5-MeO-DMT - Creativity - Christopher B. Germann (2019)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving endogenous neurochemical catalyst of creativity

———————————————————————————————————————

Christopher B. Germann (Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Sc. / Marie Curie Alumnus)

Affiliation: CogNovo.eu (Plymouth, United Kingdom)

✉mail@christopher-germann.de

https://www.cognovo.net/christopher-germann

This work was funded by the European Union Marie Curie Initial Training Network

Marie Curie Actions: FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN-604764

TOC

Abstract __________________________________________________________________ 3

Introduction _______________________________________________________________ 4

Psilocybin increases the personality-trait “Openness to Experience” ___________ 27

LSD expands global functional connectivity density in the brain ______________ 31

5-MeO-DMT: An endogenous neurochemical catalyst of creativity _____________ 35

Brains in chains: Neuropolitics, neurodiversity, and cognitive liberty __________ 64

Potential for military abuse: Neuroethics and the “ticking bomb scenario” _____ 67

Conclusion _______________________________________________________________ 84

Conflict of interest statement ______________________________________________ 96

References _______________________________________________________________ 96

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41470-019-00063-y

Print ISSN: 2510-278

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Abstract

5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (acronymized as 5-MeO-DMT) is sui generis

among the numerous naturally-occurring psychoactive substances due to its

unparalleled ego-dissolving effects which can culminate in a state of nondual

consciousness that is phenomenologically similar to transformative peak experiences

described in various ancient contemplative traditions (e.g., Advaita Vedānta,

Mahāyāna Buddhism, inter alia). The enigmatic molecule is endogenous to the

human brain and has profound psychological effects which are hitherto only very

poorly understood due to the absence of scientifically controlled human experimental

trials. Its exact neuronal receptor binding profile is a matter of ongoing research;

however, empirical evidence indicates that its remarkable psychoactivity is partially

mediated via agonism of the 5-HT

1A/2A

(serotonin) receptor subtypes.

Anthropological/ethnopharmacological evidence indicates that various cultures

utilized 5-MeO-DMT containing plants for medicinal, psychological, and spiritual

purposes for millennia. We propose that this naturally occurring serotonergic

compound could be fruitfully utilized as a neurochemical research tool with the

potential to significantly advance our understanding of the psychological and

neuronal processes which underpin cognition and creativity (e.g., downregulation of

the default-mode network, increased global functional connectivity, neuroplasticity,

receptor interactions, etc.). An eclectic interdisciplinary perspective is adopted, and

we present converging evidence from a plurality of sources in support of our

conjecture. Specifically, we argue that 5-MeO-DMT has significant

neuropsychopharmacological potential due to its incommensurable capacity to

completely disintegrate self-referential cognitive/neuronal processes (viz., ego death).

The importance of unbiased systematic scientific research on naturally occurring

endogenous psychoactive compounds is discussed from a Jamesian radical

empiricism perspective and potential scenarios of abuse are addressed, particularly

in the context of neuroethics, cybernetic manipulation, and military research on

torture.

———————————————————————————————————————

Keywords: 5-MeO-DMT, 5-HT

agonism, Creativity, Nonduality, Anthropocene,

Cognitive liberty, Neuroethics.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Introduction

The following prefatory quotation is adapted from Abraham Maslow’s seminal book

“Towards a psychology of being” and it provides an apt primer and semantic

grounding for the subsequent disquisition.

“An essential aspect of SA [Self-Actualized] creativeness was a special kind of

perceptiveness that is exemplified by the child in the fable who saw that the king had

no clothes on - this too contradicts the notion of creativity as products. Such people can

see the fresh, the raw, the concrete, the ideographic, as well as the generic, the abstract,

the rubricized, the categorized and the classified. Consequently, they live far more in

the real world of nature than in the verbalized world of concepts, abstractions,

expectations, beliefs and stereotypes that most people confuse with the real world. This

is well expressed in [Carl] Rogers' phrase ‘openness to experience’” (Maslow, 1968, p.

145, content in brackets added).

Humanity is currently de facto confronted with an unprecedented existential crisis

which could be described as an “anthropogenic planetary emergency”. One major

acute threat to the survival of the species comes from the military and the constant

threat of nuclear annihilation, another from the destruction of the global ecosystem

and the significant and extremely worrisome anthropogenic (man-made) reduction of

biodiversity which will soon cause a global systemic collapse (Steffen et al., 2018).

The term “biological annihilation” has been proposed to describe this ongoing scenario

(Ceballos, Ehrlich, & Dirzo, 2017).

In 1798, Thomas Malthus predicted exponential population growth in his “Essay on

the Principle of Population” which influenced the ratification of the Census Act 1800

(41 Geo. III c.15) in Great Britain. Malthus foresaw numerous contemporary

challenges and the topic of overpopulation has since then been centrally discussed by

numerous influential thinkers such as Sir Charles Galton Darwin, Sir Julian Huxley,

and Nobel laureate Lord Bertrand Russell, inter alia. In 1952, Russel wrote the

following in his seminal book entitled “The Impact of Science on Society”:

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

In 1960, Heinz von Förster

et al. published a paper in SCIENCE MAGAZINE

which introduced the “Doomsday Equation”. Based on mathematical extrapolation of

an elongated J-curve, this equation predicts that population growth would become

infinite at a specific (finite) point in time, that is, by Friday the 13

of November, A.D.

2026 (von Förster, Mora, & Amiot, 1960). Based on statistical analyses they concluded

that the growth of the world population N is most fittingly approximated by the

following hyperbolic equation.

 =







 

where C and t

are constants, whereas t

corresponds to an absolute upper limit of

the increase at which N ≈ ∞ (for details see also Korotayev & Malkov, 2016).

Obviously, von Förster et al. did not actually believe that the world population would

become infinite within the doomsday interval t

= A.D. 2026.87 ± 5.50 (op. cit., p.1293)

The cybernetician Heinz von Förster worked successfully in radar laboratories during the Nazi

Germany era and he later immigrated to the USA via the secret operation PAPERCLIP which

brought more than 1700 German Nazi scientists to the USA (Jacobsen, 2014). We will return to this

topic in a subsequent section.

“The danger of a world shortage of food may be averted for a time by

improvements in the technique of agriculture. But, if population continues to

increase at the present rate, such improvements cannot long suffice. There will

then be two groups, one poor with an increasing population, the other rich with

a stationary population. Such a situation can hardly fail to lead to world war. If

there is not to be an endless succession of wars, population will have to become

stationary throughout the world, and this will probably have to be done, in many

countries, as a result of governmental measures. This will require an extension

of scientific technique into very intimate matters. There are, however, two other

possibilities. War may become so destructive that, at any rate for a time, there is

no danger of overpopulation; or the scientific nations may be defeated and

anarchy may destroy scientific technique.” (Russell, 1952, p. 27)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

but rather that the prognosticated longitudinal trend would change into a different

direction before the critical calendrical value is reached. Others researchers have

propounded an elongated L-shaped curve, i.e., a stabilization at a minimum positive

level at ≈ 2050 A.D. (Konar, 2012; cf. Korotayev & Malkov, 2016).

We maintain that there are other factors which are much more important than

Malthusian demographic developments per se. The fundamental problems of the 21

century Anthropocene

(Lewis & Maslin, 2015) are primarily caused by the irrational,

short-sighted, reckless, and ego-driven behaviour of the human species, viz.,

overconsumption and a myopic profit-oriented exploitation of the ecosystem (Fromm,

1962, 1976). In the field of behavioural economics short-sighted thinking has been

studied in extenso under the header “temporal discounting” (van den Bos & McClure,

2013). In brevi, immediate rewards are preferred and outcomes in the future are

regarded as less important (time-additive discounted utility function),

phenomenon which is also observable in non-human primates (Hwang, Kim, & Lee,

2009). However, there appear to be significant cross-cultural variations in “long

versus short-term orientation”, a variable which, according to factor analytic

computations, constitutes a basic cultural dimension (Minkov & Hofstede, 2012).

Since the 1970s countless studies on “delay gratification” (Mischel, Ebbesen, &

Raskoff Zeiss, 1972) have been conducted and recent neuroimaging work indicates

that neuroanatomical loci associated with self-control (i.c., higher-order prefrontal

The present epoch is also termed the 6

mass extinction or “Holocene extinction” (Barnosky et al.,

2011; Ceballos & Ehrlich, 2018; Ripple et al., 2017) due to the rapid anthropogenic biodiversity loss

which is comparable to other exogenously caused mass extinctions in the history of the planet earth

(Régnier et al., 2015; Worm et al., 2006). That is, we are currently witnessing the first mass

extinction caused by the behaviour of a species. For comparison, the last Cretaceous–Paleogene

extinction event was with a high likelihood caused by the impact of a meteorite or comet.

Temporally discounted utility refers to the value of a delayed reward multiplied by the discount

function F(D), where D signifies the delay. Specifically, the ratio F’(D)/F(D) constitutes the discount

rate which signifies how rapidly the discount function decreases as a function of diachronic reward

delay (Hwang et al., 2009). In the context of neuroeconomics high discount rates have been

associated with various forms of addiction, i.e., substance and behavioral addictions (Monterosso,

Piray, & Luo, 2012; Saville, Gisbert, Kopp, & Telesco, 2010). The “impulsivity construct” (e.g., poor

self-control) has also been associated with genetic predispositions (Anokhin, Golosheykin, Grant, &

Heath, 2011).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

executive functions) play a crucial rôle in the top-down regulation of

impulsivity/temptation (i.c., nucleus accumbes) (Luerssen, Gyurak, Ayduk,

Wendelken, & Bunge, 2014). Sufficient self-control capacity is thus a neurocognitive

condicio sine qua non for successful long-term strategies. However, our current

capitalistic “economic” system is primarily based on marketing principles which

systematically create desires and exploit impulsivity, e.g., methods of “nagging

psychology” which explicitly target developing children, and, more recently, highly

effective “neuromarketing” techniques which monitor and scrutinise the fine-grained

effects of various advertising strategies on neuronal processes in the brain (Stanton,

Sinnott-Armstrong, & Huettel, 2017). It could be argued that prefrontal executive

control circuitry (which is necessary for reflective rational thought) is systematically

compromised by various methods which target and exploit dopaminergic/limbic

hedonic processes (cf. Olds & Milner, 1954). According to resource models of self-

control (e.g., Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) the inherently limited capacity to

regulate impulses and desires needs to be practiced (the so called “muscle analogy of

self-control”, but see Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). By contrast, present Western

society is highly seductive (Biehl-Missal & Saren, 2012) and it reinforces a “mindless

consumption mindset”

(cf. Williams & Grisham, 2012) which is combined with

wasteful production principles such as “planned obsolescence” (Guiltinan, 2009) in

order to stimulate economic growth (one of the explicit maxims of contemporary

macroeconomics). There exists a ubiquitous focus on material externalities which is

evidenced by the abundance of consumer objects. This observation is associated with

a much more general ascertainment, namely, the widespread dominance of a thought-

pattern which is primarily quantitative, materialistic, outward oriented

(extrospective), and egocentric, as opposed to qualitative, inward directed

(introspective), and unitive (the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm emphasised the

fundamental difference between the “having mode” and the “being mode” of existence

According to Hofstede’s recently updated 6-D model “indulgence versus self-restraint” constitutes

the newly added 6

cultural dimension and it would be interesting to examine if this is cross-cultural

difference is reflected at the neuronal level (e.g., differences in prefrontal inhibitory control

circuitry). “Restrain stands for a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means

of strict social norms” (Hofstede, 2011, p. 15).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

in much of his work, e.g., op. cit.). We argue that this imbalance is reflective of a

“subject versus object” consumption dichotomy and a “separationist Weltanschauung”

which conceptualises nature as an objectifiable and exploitable resource which is

perceived as entirely detached from the self. This perceptual paradigm is based on a

purely materialistic and mechanistic conceptualisation of biology which leaves no

room for qualitative aspects like purpose and meaning (i.e., télos & lógos) (cf. “hormic”

theoretical approaches to psychology, e.g., McDougall, 1930; Wolman, 1981). It is

principally based on utilitarian premises which do not incorporate human values,

ethics, and morality. Terms like “sustainability” and “responsibility” are strategically

employed by the massive public relations industry as described by Orwell in the

context of “newspeak”, i.e., psycholinguistic semantic inversion techniques are widely

utilised as a façade (see also Chakravartty & Schiller, 2010; Wals & Jickling, 2002).

In sum, these psycho-socio-economic factors destroy nature, antagonise rationality

and foster egocentrism, irrationality, and short-sighted thinking.

The present modus operandi is congruent with the destructive philosophy of

neoliberalism

– a doctrine which is highly influential amongst the “financial power

In fact, the neologism “Capitalocene” has been proposed as a more accurate descriptor (Altvater,

2016). Human pressure on the Earth System is primarily caused by the wealthy OECD countries.

Their “ecological footprint” (cf. Dietz, Rosa, & York, 2007) is proportionally much larger vis-à-vis the

rest of the world, i.e., due to overconsumption (an sheer waste) of resources. Hence, equity

significantly factors into the equation of “the great acceleration” (Steffen, Broadgate, Deutsch,

Gaffney, & Ludwig, 2015). It is important to emphasize that the problem has interdisciplinary

ramifications which cannot be fragmented – a creative transdisciplinary solution is needed.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

élite”

(Harvey, 2007; Hill & Kumar, 2009). The continuation of the current irrational

course of action will predictably lead to total ecological catastrophe in the foreseeable

future (Ceballos et al., 2017) unless humanity comes up with a radical

creative

solution.

Due to inherent species-specific cognitive and epistemological limitations prescience

is intrinsically bound. Human beings cannot possibly know the exact threshold of the

“multifactorial nonlinear complex systems equation” which determines the trajectory

of our habitat in state-space (which might indeed be a multidimensional Hilbert

space). There are simply to many unknown variables and deterministic predictions

by a hypothetical omniscient “Laplacian Demon”

might be in principle impossible

due to the intrinsically stochastic nature of fundamental physics (cf. recent

experimental falsifications of local realism, e.g., Gröblacher et al., 2007). However, it

is a plausible cautious “Bayesian prior” to assume that once a critical tipping-point is

reached the system loses its equilibrium state and a “singularity” ensues (not to be

confused with the dystopian AI singularity advertised by prominent advocates of

The terminology is adopted from sociology, in casu, power structure analysis (Domhoff, 1975),

where the topic of power concentration has been thoroughly studied (e.g., Froud, Johal, Moran, &

Williams, 2017; Harvey, 2007; Hill & Kumar, 2009), for instance, with regard to the “fractional

reserve banking system” (Foster & Holleman, 2014) which has been described as “economic

parasitism”. Currently, financial disparity has reached an extreme climax and statistics indicate

that an extremely small ultra-rich segment (>1% of the total population) owns ≈ 50% of the worlds

entire wealth (i.e., ≈$140 trillion are owned by an infinitesimal small minority; but see the “Global

Wealth Report” from 2018 published by the Credit Suisse Research Institute). According to Forbes,

wealth concentration in the USA has spiked in recent years. For example, “three men own as much

as the bottom half of Americans” and the “richest American in 2018 was worth 31 Times as much as

in 1982”. A recent big-data study conducted at the ETH Zürich provided insightful results. Based on

graph-theoretical network topology analysis a “super-entity” consisting of a network of global

corporate control was identified (Vitali, Glattfelder, & Battiston, 2011). The researchers concluded

that “transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure and that a large portion of control

flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions”, an empirical finding which is indicative of

a “richer-get-richer” mechanism.

The term “radical” is etymologically derived from the Latin word “radix” meaning "root" (cf. the

radical sign √ in mathematics). That is, a “radical solution” refers to a solution which targets the

very roots of the problem, as opposed to peripheral symptomologies (in the case under consideration

the roots are primarily psychological).

See Laplace’s “Essai philosophique sur les probabilités” (1814, p. 4).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

transhumanism). The grand concept of the fine-tuned universe (Holder, 2002) can be

generalised to the Earth System. Human beings can only exist in a very narrow band

of fine-tuned environmental parameters (the “Goldilocks” zone of sapient life). Within

an evolutionary blink of an eye humankind has changed the natural order (the

Humboldtian Kosmos) for rather dubious reasons. Irrational primitive psychological

motives like cupidity and imperiousness provide the primary impetus for this

pervasive development. Sapientiæ & virtutis appear to play a subordinate rôle (if any)

in this scenario which is often depicted as progress. Our self-image (as a species) is

hubristic, unrealistic, and illusionary. To come vis-à-vis with the truth about our

current condition might be the most difficult task which is prevented by constant

distraction and various self-deceptive psychological defence mechanisms (e.g., quasi-

Freudian suppression at the level of mass psychology).

In 2018, the figurative “Doomsday Clock” maintained by the BULLETIN OF

ATOMIC SCIENTISTS was set to “2 minutes to midnight”.

According to this

heuristic multicriterial assessment, humanity was never that close to annihilation

since 1953 when the USA tested the first hydrogen bomb (Guglielmi, 2018). Ergo,

creativity and a fundamentally new way of thinking are of utmost evolutionary

importance if the species Homō sapiēns sapiēns

wants to survive this century. A

creative solution to this far-reaching existential problem is thus literally a matter of

life or death.

As Einstein put it in a New York Times interview: “… a new type of

thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.”

One of

the key components of the solution is a deep first-person emotive comprehension that

URL: https://thebulletin.org/2018-doomsday-clock-statement

The binomial taxonomical nomenclature (introduced by Carl Linnæus) is etymologically derived

from the Latin “homō” meaning “human being” and “sapiēns” meaning “wise” – thus the “wise

human”. By contrast, the neologism Homō consumens has been proposed (Fromm, 1976) as a more

accurate/realistic designation given the contemporary utilitarian production and consumption

orientation of the species (Baudrillard, 1998).

Realistic thinkers have argued that the chances of species survival are de facto minute (Fromm,

1962). However, classical game theoretical calculi are not applicable to this situation. Even if the

chance of success is <1% humanity needs to mobilize all its resources to come up with a solution to

the problem of self-destruction.

Source: New York Times - May 25, 1946, p.13 – “Atomic Education Urged by Einstein”

URL: https://nyti.ms/2NpSc8L

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

the earth is a single complex system – an interconnected whole to which we as human

beings belong.

Deeply intertwined with socio-political factors, there are systematic psychological

barriers which impede rational change. For instance, the “status quo bias” which

refers to an unconscious (System 1) preference for the current state of affairs (which

is perceived as a comparative baseline level). Any change which deviates from this

reference anchor is perceived as a loss (cf. loss-aversion, regret avoidance, existence

bias, mere exposure effect, i.a.), despite the fact that an alternative course of action

may be objectively advantageous (Kahneman, Knetsch, & Thaler, 1991). From a

social group-dynamics perspective, individuals who challenge the perceived dominant

status quo (which constitutes an implicit group norm) are socially punished by the in-

group (e.g., loss of reputation, discredititation, ostracism, etc.). In this way, the status

quo is socially “cemented” (consolidated), and possible alternatives are prevented. It

is noteworthy that norm-defection is socially contagious (for a pertinent historical

Nazi Germany case-study see Geerling, Magee, & Brooks, 2015). Based on recent

fMRI neuroimaging data it has been concluded that “specific prefrontal-basal ganglia

dynamics are involved in rejecting the default, a mechanism that may be important in

a range of difficult choice scenarios” (S. M. Fleming, Thomas, & Dolan, 2010, p. 6005).

The experimental study documented a selective increase in neuronal activity in the

subthalamic nucleus (STN) when the status quo was rejected. Further, statistical

analysis indicated that there was a correlative increase in activity in the inferior

frontal cortex for difficult decisions (as compared to easy defaults). In line with other

conceptually related experimental studies, the results indicated that the frontal

cortex has a modulatory top-down influence on the STN during switches away from

the status quo (i.e., the non-default option). Such neuropsychophysiological data

might provide important insights how to overcome the persistent status quo bias and

the results indicate the importance of inhibitory cognitive control mechanisms (cf.

studies on self-control/resource models of executive prefrontal functions).8F9F9F

The importance of top-down executive control for the functioning of society has already been

discussed by Plato in his Res Publica (Lat.: Politeia). Plato placed great emphasis on the relation

between self-discipline (synonymous with self-control) and justice, at the level of the individual and

likewise the city-state (póli), as demonstrated in the following Socratic dialogue:

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

suggest that social group pressure (e.g., conformity à la Asch) should be

systematically investigated as an additional variable in future behavioural and

neuroimaging studies along these lines. The problem how to overcome the

detrimental status quo is of utmost importance and governmental institutions and

funding bodies should acknowledge the significance and urgency

of this “wicked

problem” (DeFries & Nagendra, 2017) which has far-reaching ramifications for the

species as a whole. The status quo bias relates to the prefatory quotation by Abraham

Malow who refers to Hans-Christian Andersons fable entitled “The Emperor's New

Clothes” (published in 1837). However, what Anderson and Maslow do not mention

is that the child whose innocent veridical perception of reality challenges the status

quo will by all likelihood be severely punished, verbally abused, and verboten by those

who proudly escort the naked emperor and praise the non-existent dress most

profusely (i.e., those who benefit from the corrupt status quo, who identify with it,

whose self-esteem depends on it, and who by no means want to see the truth). Thus,

“Socrates: ‘It is not the same as courage and wisdom. Each of those was located in a particular part,

and yet one of them made the whole city wise, and the other made it brave. Self-discipline does not

operate in the same way. It extends literally throughout the entire city, over the whole scale, causing

those who are weakest - in intelligence, if you like, or in strength, or again in numbers, wealth or

anything like that — together with those who are strongest and those in between, to sing in unison. So

we would be quite justified in saying that self-discipline is this agreement about which of them should

rule — a natural harmony of worse and better, both in the city and in each individual.‘ [...] ‘The title

`brave`, I think, is one we give to any individual because of this part of him, when the spirited element

in him, though surrounded by pleasures and pains, keeps intact the instructions given to it by reason

about what is to be feared and what is not to be feared.’

Glaucon: ‘Rightly so,’ he said.

Socrates: ‘And the title “wise” because of that small part which acted as an internal ruler and gave

those instructions, having within it a corresponding knowledge of what was good both for each part

and for the whole community of the three of them together.’

Glaucon: ‘Exactly.’

‘What about “self-disciplined”? Isn’t that the result of the friendship and harmony of these three? The

ruling element and the two elements which are ruled agree that what is rational should rule, and do

not rebel against it.’

Glaucon: ‘Yes. That’s exactly what self-discipline is,’ he said, ‘both for a city and for an individual.’ “

In this context another cognitive bias is of pertinence: the “omission bias”. In sensu lato, omission

bias refers to the irrational human tendency to judge omissions that cause harm as less significant

compared to actions that cause harm because actions are perceived as more salient and hence

consequential than inactions (DeScioli, Christner, & Kurzban, 2011).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

the child will painfully learn the consequences of not conforming to fallacious socially

shared beliefs (via Bandura-type operant conditioning). Ritualism and orthopraxy

(Ellul, 1973) are additional pertinent concepts in this situation. Moreover, this

hypothetical punitive scenario does not include the reaction of the royal

propagandists and the king himself.

In general, people do not readily give up core beliefs (Weltanschauungen) in the light

of new evidence (a quasi-Bayesian epistemological desideratum). Per contrast,

humans defend elementary belief tenets which fundamentally (axiomatically)

structure their perspective on reality, consciously and/or unconsciously, and one

might argue that Hebbian principles of long-term potentiation provide a neuronal

“morphometric” explanation for cognitively inflexible “belief networks”

(i.e.,

consolidation/dominance of specific neuronal pathways — any deviation is associated

with computational outcome uncertainty). “Belief bias” (Evans, Over, & Manktelow,

1993) is one mechanism which works at the automatic/implicit level, i.e., the

syntactical logical validity of a given syllogistic argument is frequently neglected and

conclusions are primarily judged based on their semantic congruence with certain a

priori beliefs. Around 2000 years ago, Lucius Seneca summarised this irrational

human tendency concisely in one sentence: “Every man prefers belief to the exercise of

judgment.” The elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) provides a

dual-process framework which distinguishes between two modes of information

processing — a peripheral (heuristic) mode vs. a central (analytic) mode. The latter

constitutes the reflective and rational mode of reasoning while the former is reflexive

and belief based. “Rational intelligence” (RQ; Stanovich & West, 2008) is an

individual differences variable that refers to people’s propensity to utilise critical

thinking skills and analytic cognitive processes (note that RQ ≠ IQ). If conditions for

rational/analytic processing are not met the status quo is passively adopted as the

effortless default (i.e., cognitively economic heuristic decisions which do not engage

any elaboration or System 2 intervention and are cost-effective in prefrontal energetic

The Quinan “Web of Beliefs” (Quine & Ullian, 1978) provides an applicable semantic analogy to

(Bayesian) neural network connectivity and the process of “belief updating” (i.e., modification of

weights between neuronal nodes).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

terms). Characterological idiosyncrasies and group conformity propensities are

additional significant factors in this regard.

In connection to “herd psychology” the eugenist Sir Francis Galton formulated the

following quasi-Darwinian argument on behavioural/cognitive/attitudinal conformity

in his book “Inquiries into the Human Faculty” (1983, p. 51 et seq., cap.: ”Gregarious

and Slavish Instincts”):

Much earlier, in 1851, the charismatic German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer

wrote the following on the detrimental effects of conformity and “public opinion”:

“An incapacity of relying on oneself and a faith in others are precisely the

conditions that compel brutes to congregate and live in herds; and, again, it is

essential to their safety in a country infested by large carnivora, that they should

keep closely together in herds. No ox grazing alone could live for many days

unless he were protected, far more assiduously and closely than is possible to

barbarians. [...] If any brute in a herd makes itself obnoxious to the leader, the

leader attacks him, and there is a free fight between the two, the other animals

looking on the while. But if a man makes himself obnoxious to his chief, he is

attacked, not by the chief single-handed, but by the overpowering force of his

executive. The rebellious individual has to brave a disciplined host; there are

spies who will report his, doings, a local authority who will send a detachment

of soldiers to drag him to trial; there are prisons ready built to hold him, civil

authorities wielding legal powers of stripping him of all his possessions, and

official executioners prepared to torture or kill him. The tyrannies under which

men have lived, whether under rude barbarian chiefs, under the great despotisms

of half-civilised Oriental countries, or under some of the more polished but little

less severe governments of modern days must have had a frightful influence in

eliminating independence of character from the human race.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

In conclusio, these quotations demonstrate the restrictive impact of public doxa

(Bourdieu, 1977), impression management, social desirability, and the fundamental

“When we see that almost everything men devote their lives to attain, sparing no

effort and encountering a thousand toils and dangers in the process, has, in the

end, no further object than to raise themselves in the estimation of others; when

we see that not only offices, titles, decorations, but also wealth, nay, even

knowledge and art, are striven for only to obtain, as the ultimate goal of all effort,

greater respect from one’s fellowmen, — is not this a lamentable proof of the extent

to which human folly can go? To set much too high a value on other people’s

opinion is a common error everywhere; an error, it may be, rooted in human

nature itself, or the result of civilization, and social arrangements generally; but,

whatever its source, it exercises a very immoderate influence on all we do, and is

very prejudicial to our happiness. We can trace it from a timorous and slavish

regard for what other people will say, up to the feeling which made Virginius

plunge the dagger into his daughter’s heart, or induces many a man to sacrifice

quiet, riches, health and even life itself, for posthumous glory. Undoubtedly this

feeling is a very convenient instrument in the hands of those who have the control

or direction of their fellowmen; and accordingly we find that in every scheme for

training up humanity in the way it should go, the maintenance and

strengthening of the feeling of honor occupies an important place. [...] There was

much the same kind of thing in the case of Lecompte, who was executed at

Frankfurt, also in 1846, for an attempt on the king’s life. At the trial he was very

much annoyed that he was not allowed to appear, in decent attire, before the

Upper House; and on the day of the execution it was a special grief to him that he

was not permitted to shave. It is not only in recent times that this kind of thing

has been known to happen. Mateo Aleman tells us, in the Introduction to his

celebrated romance, Juzman de Alfarache, that many infatuated criminals,

instead of devoting their last hours to the welfare of their souls, as they ought to

have done, neglect this duty for the purpose of preparing and committing to

memory a speech to be made from the scaffold. ” (Schopenhauer, 1851, p. 46, et

seq., cap. IV “Position, or A Man’s Place in the Estimation of Others”).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

“need to belong” (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) on independent thought which is an

essential prerequisite for creativity and modifications of the status quo.

The “single-state fallacy” (Roberts, 2006, p. 104) pertains to the widely held naïve

belief that worthwhile cognition exclusively takes place in “normal” alert waking

consciousness — a superficial assumption which fits into the dominant contemporary

materialistic and utilitarian “production habitus”

which places great emphasis on

“ordinary” states of consciousness and socially discriminates against “altered” states

of consciousness as being unimportant, irrational, prejudicial, libidinous, and even

infantile (cf. Fromm, 1976). Per contra, there exists copious evidence that important

path-breaking creative ideas can emerge from “non-ordinary” states of consciousness

(Tart, 1972, 2008). A well-documented paradigmatic historical example is August

Kekulés discovery of the benzene structure in 1858, a landmark in the history of

science which heralded the birth of the structural theory of organic chemistry (Kekulé,

1866, 1890). Kekulé, a German chemist, had a daydream of the Ouroboros (an ancient

symbol of a snake seizing its own tail).This dream-image provided him with the idea

of the cyclic structure of benzene (Gillis, 1966; Rocke, 2015), i.e., a symmetrical ring

comprised of six carbon atoms with alternating single and double bonds. The far-

reaching scientific ramifications of Kekulés insight for the rapid development of

modern chemistry can hardly be overstated. Interestingly, the Swiss depth-

psychologist C.G. Jung assigned particular archetypal and alchemical significance to

The computer analogy (Casey & Moran, 1989) forms the conceptual metaphoric basis of much of

contemporary thought (Lakoff & Johnson, 1981). Norbert Wiener wrote the following on Zeitgeist in

his cybernetics book with the telling title “The human use of human beings” (1950):

“… the thought of every age is reflected in its technique. […] If the seventeenth and early eighteenth

centuries are the age of clocks, and the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries constitute the age of

steam engines, the present time is the age of communication and control.” A similar argument could

be articulate with respect to Cartesian and Freudian “hydraulic” theories.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

this ancient symbol

which can be found in numerous cultural traditions across

various epochs and locations (Jung, 1969). Jung wrote:

Jung’s mentor, Sigmund Freud, famously characterized dreams as “the royal road

to the unconscious” (Freud, 1939). However, unbeknownst to early Freudian

psychoanalysts, besides dreams, parapraxis, and free-association techniques, there

exist other much more effective methods to render unconscious psychic contents more

It is curious to remark that the Ouroboros shares numerous topological similarities with the

Möbius band (a paradoxical geometrical object which has been eponymously named after the

German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius who described it in 1885). Interestingly,

archaeological excavations demonstrate that the Möbius band has been depicted in artworks across

numerous ancient cultures and epochs (Cartwright & González, 2016). The mathematical symbol for

the concept of infinity, the lemniscate, shares central defining features with the Möbius band. We

submit that the symbolism of the Möbius band can be interpreted as a visual conceptual metaphor, a

figure of thought (Lakoff, 1986), for the psychophysical “Pauli-Jung conjecture” of dual-aspect

monism (Atmanspacher, 2012). In abstracto, the Ouroboros is thus a symbol for second-order

cybernetics (von Förster, 2003), i.e., the recursive relationship between the seer and the seen (psyche

and physis).

“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of

the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was

any ego consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-

consciousness extends. For all ego-consciousness is isolated; because it separates

and discriminates, it knows only particulars, and it sees only those that can be

related to the ego. Its essence is limitation, even though it reach to the farthest

nebulae among the stars. All consciousness separates; but in dreams we put on

the likeness of that more universal, truer, more eternal man dwelling in the

darkness of primordial night. There he is still the whole, and the whole is in him,

indistinguishable from nature and bare of all egohood. It is from these all-uniting

depths that the dream arises, be it never so childish, grotesque, and immoral.”

(Jung, 1933, p. 304)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

accessible.

Certain neuroactive chemical substances, colloquially termed

“psychedelics”,

are particularly potent tools in this regard. From a psychoanalytic

perspective, it is noteworthy that psychedelics produce dream-like effects and may

also be classified as oneirogenic substances

(i.e., substances that produce or enhance

Much later Walter Frederking utilized mescaline and LSD-25 for psychotherapy in order to

facilitate “deep relaxation and free ideation” via “drug-induced dream-like states” in order to “shorten

the course of psychoanalysis” by facilitation of profound insights (Frederking, 1955, p. 262).

Frederking postulated that these psychoactive chemicals could be used to establish a “close

connection between the subject and his dreams”.

The etymology of the term is derived from the Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “mind, soul, spirit”) +

δῆλος (dêlos, “to manifest, to reveal”), i.e., “psychedelic substances” could be adequately translated

as “mind manifesting” or “soul revealing” substances. Similarly decomposed, psychology is “the study

of” the “mind, soul, and spirit” — even though most contemporary psychologists would reject this

“deep” definition. Previously, psychedelics were also labeled as “psychotomimetics” because they

were thought to produce symptoms similar to those of a psychosis. Interestingly, schizophrenia and

other psychopathologies involving psychotic symptoms (e.g., bipolar disorder) have been linked to

creativity (e.g., Claridge & Blakey, 2009; Power et al., 2015), possibly due to a reduction of latent

inhibition (cf. Burch, Hemsley, Pavelis, & Corr, 2006), inter alia.

It is a plausible hypothesis that psychoactive tryptamines are involved in naturally occurring

dream-states. Given its central function in biochronological processes, the pineal gland is an

important neuroanatomical ROI (cf. Barker, Borjigin, Lomnicka, & Strassman, 2013). Also note the

close structural similarity between melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine) and 5-MeO-DMT (5-

methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine). There are numerous hypotheses which link dream-states to

creativity (e.g., Bob & Louchakova, 2015).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

dream-like states of consciousness which is of pertinence for modern oneirology).

There is a significant amount of anecdotal significant evidence that psychedelics can,

inter alia, enhance creative ideation (indeed the term “ideagens” has been suggested;

Roberts, 2006).

From a purely pragmatic vantage point on creativity the crucial importance of

psychedelics in the technological development of the internet and the personal

computer should be highlighted (the digital revolution). Prima vista, this might

appear like a hyperbolic statement. However, there exists considerable historical

evidence in support of the claim that psychedelics played a pivotal rôle in the highly

creative and innovative 1960s computer-revolution which fundamentally

transformed (and interconnected) the world we inhabit (see Markoff, 2005; Nelson,

1975). A similar argument could be made with respect to the development of

cybernetics as an interdisciplinary meta-discipline, e.g., the Macy conferences.

Besides the influence of psychedelics on the development of uniting (i.e., boundary

It has been shown that the emotional valence of dreams can be systematically influenced by

extraneous (i.c., olfactory) stimuli. It has been experimentally demonstrated that a positive smelling

stimulus (rose smell) induced positive dreams while a negative smelling stimulus (the smell of rotten

egg) induced negative dreams (Schredl et al., 2009). Similar perceptual/phenomenological

interactions may be predicted for the emotional valence of psychedelic states (such techniques might

be utilized to foster conditions which are conducive to the unfoldment of creativity or for therapeutic

purposes). Furthermore, in relation to dreams and creativity research, “disjunctive cognitions” are

another dream-state phenomenon of significant interest. During the perception of “interobjects” the

dreamer experiences novel disjunctive phenomena such as objects and geometrical structures that do

not occur in general waking consciousness. These objects are self-contradictory and paradoxical, viz.,

they are incongruent with the axiomatic Aristotelian “laws of thought”, i.c., the law of the excluded

middle, the law of noncontradiction, and the law of identity. It has been argued that dream events

oftentimes feel bizarre but that disjunctive cognitions usually do not. The following example

illustrates the point: “I’m sitting in a dream beside a man I don’t recognize, but I know in the dream

is my father” (Boas, 1994, p. 155). This example could be interpreted as an inversion of the “Capgras’

delusion” (Young, 2008), an interpretation which is particularly interesting in view of the fact that

Capgras’ syndrome has been associated with the alteration of time perception (Aziz & Warner, 2005),

a factor which is common to dreams and psychedelic states. Echoing early Freudian theorizing, it

has been suggested with regard to the emerging interdisciplinary field of neuropsychoanalysis that

by “careful examination of the experiences in dreams, we may gain insight into the workings of our

mind/brains” (Blechner, 2001).

Cf.: Glaser, Gilbert (1955). "Neuropharmacology - Transactions of the first conference". The Yale

Journal of Biology and Medicine. 28(1), 78–79.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

dissolving) information-technologies like the world-wide-web, innumerable artists

across disciplines, epochs, and cultures have been deeply inspired by transcendental

experiences occasioned by psychedelics, especially within the branch termed

“visionary arts” (e.g., Grey, 2001). Indeed, it has been argued that unconscious

processes play a pivotal rôle in artistic expression (e.g., Kandel, 2015). For reasons of

space and parsimony we omit a discussion of this extremely rich area.

Eminent contemporary instances of “psychedelically-inspired creativity” include, for

example, the entrepreneur Steve Jobs and Nobel laureate Karry Mullis.

Jobs

famously reported that his experience with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) was

one of the most important things he did in his whole life, a statement which recently

gained experimental empirical support.

Biochemist Karry Mullis was even more

explicit (Mullis was honoured for his ground-breaking work on the polymerase chain

reaction which is currently widely used to replicate DNA). He stated in an interview:

“Back in the 1960s and early '70s I took plenty of LSD. A lot of people were doing that

in Berkeley back then. And I found it to be a mind-opening experience. It was certainly

much more important than any courses I ever took" (Schoch, 1994). Mullis claimed

that his ability to “get down with the molecules” was facilitated by LSD (Slattery,

2015). Moreover, he wrote in his autobiography: “The concept that there existed

chemicals with the ability to transform the mind, to open up new windows of

perception, fascinated me” (Mullis, 2000, p. 62). Mullis articulation reverberates with

the title of Aldous Huxley’s influential book “The Doors of Perception” (Huxley, 1954)

in which Huxley details his extraordinary experiences with the ancient psychedelic

compound mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) which was administered to

It should be emphasized that these chosen examples should not reinforce the superficial conception

that creativity only “matters” if it produces material dividends and has no intrinsic value in itself

(Fromm, 1976).

In a recent randomized double-blind trial ≈70% of participants rated their experimentally induced

psychedelic experience as one of their top five spiritually significant lifetime events (Griffiths et al.,

2016).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

him by the British psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond

who initially coined the term

“psychedelic”. Huxley wrote the following couplet in a letter to Osmond:

“To make this mundane world sublime,

Take half a gram of phanerothyme”

Osmond likewise responded to Huxley in poetic rhyme form:

“To fathom Hell or soar angelic,

Just take a pinch of psychedelic”

Huxley

adopted the title of his mescaline-inspired book from a phrase found in

William Blake's 1793 poem “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”. Blake wrote: “If the

doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.

For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his

cavern.”

According to Huxley and Blake, the transcendence of the self-centred

perspective which is associated with rigid ego-structures enables the percipient to

perceive reality in “new light” and from a more impartial and universal perspective.

Likewise, Schopenhauer

wrote the following in 1831 in a chapter entitled “Genius

and Virtue”:

Osmond first used the term in the scientific literature in 1957 in an article published in the

“Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences” entitled “A review of the clinical effects of

psychotomimetic agents” (Osmond, 1957).

Huxley was a repeated nominee for the Nobel Prize in literature and his genealogy is related to

many high-grade British scientists (Berra, Alvarez, & Shannon, 2010). An interesting factoid

(especially in the context of ego-dissolution/ego-death) is that Huxley wrote a note to his wife while

on his deathbed asking her to inject him with 100μg of LSD (IM). Huxley died while under the

influence of the consciousness expanding substance. Another interesting piece of information is that

Huxley was allegedly intimately involved in the illegal CIA MK-ULTRA program (discussed

subsequently) which entailed psychological experimentation with psychedelic substances on naïve

and nonconsenting subjects (often-times with extremely harmful consequences).

A connatural conception can also be found in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”. Plato was very much

concerned with eternal forms and most mathematicians can be regarded as implicit Platonists

(Burnyeat, 2000; Mueller, 2005) even though they might not be explicitly aware of this philosophical

heritage (cf. the importance of Δianoia in Plato's “Theory of Forms” (Cooper, 1966)).

Eristische Dialektik: Die Kunst, Recht zu behalten (transl.: Eristic Dialectic: The Art of winning

an argument)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

The transcendence of psychologically conditioned habitual (aprioristic/automatic)

self-centred perceptual schemata is crucial with respect to creative cognition.

Psychedelics are unique in this regard because they are highly effective

neurochemical tools which profoundly change perception and reveal states of

consciousness that lie far beyond ordinary waking “states”. Moreover, these

pharmacological agents possess the ability to catalyse the most “extraordinary”

psychological phenomena known to science, e.g., transcendence of experiential space-

time, synesthæsia/somasthæsia/ideasthæsia, spectacular visual

hallucinations/illusions,

ineffable imaginations/phantasmagoria, indescribable

feelings of awe,

intense emotional catharsis, out-of-body experiences, expansion of

consciousness, phenomenological access to higher dimensions of being, experiential

There is a crucial distinction between hallucinations and illusions which has been concisely

pointed out by Sir Francis Galton”: “A convenient distinction is made between hallucinations and

illusions. Hallucinations are defined as appearances wholly due to fancy; illusions, as fanciful

perceptions of objects actually seen.” (Galton, 1883, p. 132). In sum, illusions have an ontologically

existent object as a reference while illusions appear seemingly ex nihilo.

Hallucinations and illusion can occur in all modalities (e.g., visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, etc.)

and there appear to be interindividual differences. Future studies should address these

idiosyncrasies which might help to identify correlated receptor-polymorphism and associated genetic

loci of such perceptual predispositions. From an empiricist stance, sensory input forms the

foundation of creative ideation (and cognition in general). The classical “Aristotelian Peripatetic

Axiom” is of pertinence in this respect. Hence, a deeper understanding of illusions and hallucinations

seems to be important for a more detailed understanding of the processes which undergird creativity.

This epistemological argument highlights the importance of sensory input in the context of reasoning

and knowledge: Nihil est in intellectu quod non sit prius in sensu (transl.: nothing is in the intellect

that was not first in the senses).

Interestingly, it has been experimentally demonstrated that the felling of awe expands perception

of time, enhances well-being, and makes “life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise” (Rudd,

Vohs, & Aaker, 2012).

“The man who is devoted to knowledge of this character is not employed in the

business of the will [ego]. Nay, every man who is devoted to the purely objective

contemplation of the world (and it is this that is meant by the knowledge of ideas)

completely loses sight of his will and its objects, and pays no further regard to

the interests of his own person, but becomes a pure intelligence free of any

admixture of will.” (Schopenhauer, 1831; content in bracket added).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

access to unconscious/archetypal contents, profound noetic insights, enhanced

biophilia, amplified empathy and compassion, etc. pp.

In the context at hand, one of the most important qualities of these chemically well-

defined compounds is their ability to catalyse novel cognitions and perceptions and

their capacity to induce the process of ego-dissolution(Carhart-Harris, Erritzoe,

Haijen, Kaelen, & Watts, 2018; J. V. Davis & Canty, 2013; Millière, 2017; Nour,

Evans, Nutt, & Carhart-Harris, 2016), viz., the experience of nondual

consciousness.

In a “state” of nondual consciousness habitual categorical

dichotomies which ordinarily structure all experience are dissolved. For instance, the

duality between subject and object, psyche and physis, epistemology and otology,

knower and known, inside and outside, percipient and perceived, self and other,

ingroup and outgroup, good and bad, et cetera. With reference to recent neuroimaging

research it has been eloquently stated that nondual consciousness is “a background

awareness that precedes conceptualization and intention and that can contextualize

various perceptual, affective, or cognitive contents without fragmenting the field of

experience into habitual dualities” (Josipovic, 2014). The discussion of nondual

consciousness has an extensive history in various ancient contemplative knowledge

traditions (for example in India where it is associated with sophisticated yogic

techniques which place great emphasis on self-control). Nonduality has only very

recently become a topic in the neurosciences, and we are unaware of any controlled

research which explicitly connects nondual consciousness with creativity. We submit

that interdisciplinary research along this line of thought would be both light-bearing

and fruitful (in the Baconian sense of lucifera & fructifera).

The concept of nonduality constitutes the nucleus of the Indian philosophical system of “Advaita

Vedānta” (Sanskrit: अैत वेदात, literally, “not-two”) which is one of the most ancient spiritual paths to

self-realization (cf. Maslow’s concept of self-actualisation). Overcoming/dissolving the illusion of the

ego or I-ness principle (Ahaṃkāra) plays a crucial rôle in this meditative spiritual tradition which

fosters deep insights into the transcendental nature of the Self.

The experience of ego-dissolution is fundamentally ineffable. Hence, the profundity of ego-dissolution

will not be fully comprehended by those readers who have not experiences it first-hand. It relates to

the problem of noncommunicable quale: One cannot appreciate the taste of sugar by listening to

elaborate descriptions or by studying its molecular structure. One must taste it (cf. Nagel, 1974). In

philosophy of mind this is known as the “knowledge argument” (Jackson, 1986).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Among numerous experts in the field of psychedelic research, there exists general

consensus that psychedelics (i.e., consciousness expanding substances) can augment

cognitive processes and enable states of “unconstrained cognition” (Carhart-Harris et

al., 2012; cf. Sheldrake, McKenna, Abraham, & Abraham, 2001). Therefore, it is

argued that psychedelics are important neurochemical research tools that can

significantly broaden our understanding of creativity. However, this idea is not new.

An early pilot study from the 1960s (which is by modern research standards

methodologically confounded/unsound) indicated that psychedelics can significantly

enhance creativity and rational scientific problem solving (Harman, McKim, Mogar,

Fadiman, & Stolaroff, 1966). After an initial phase of systematic scientific research,

the legal prohibition of psychedelics in the late 1960s put an abrupt halt to the short-

lived but very promising research agenda,

primarily due to the questionable “War

on Drugs” which was initiated by the Nixon administration for evidently

perfidious/ominous motives.

After an elongated legally enforced research-hiatus, science is currently witnessing

a “psychedelic renaissance”, a new rising wave of psychedelic research (Bolstridge,

2013; Cameron & Olson, 2018; Roseman, Demetriou, Wall, Nutt, & Carhart-Harris,

2018; Sessa, 2012) using modern psychological methodologies and advanced

neuroimaging technologies (Carhart-Harris et al., 2012; Muthukumaraswamy et al.,

2013; Roseman et al., 2016; Tagliazucchi et al., 2016). One can only speculate how far

science would have progressed in this domain without the inhibiting effects of the

Psychedelic were not only of interest to academic scientists. After initial studies in German

concentration camps (e.g., Auschwitz) the CIA developed its own undercover programs (e.g., Project

MK-Ultra) in order to test psychedelics compounds on vulnerable and naïve (non-consenting)

populations, e.g., prisoners, homeless people, mental patients. We will briefly discuss these illegal

research programs in a subsequent section.

John Daniel Ehrlichman who was at this time Assistant to the President (for Domestic Affairs)

stated in an interview in 1994 (published in “Harpers” in 2016): “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and

the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand

what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by

getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then

criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid

their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we

know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

judicially imposed interregnum. Hitherto systematic scientific research which focuses

specifically on the rôle of psychedelics on creativity is virtually absent

and the

compound 5-MeO-DMT has to date not been investigated in a rigorous manner.

connection to our previous argument on nonduality and creativity, we predict that

future research along these lines will be very probative. Research on psychedelic

agents is especially pertinent for our understanding of the neuroscience of creativity

because many psychedelics have endogenous counterparts, in other terms, they are

structurally similar or identical to neurotransmitters which constitute human

physiology/neurochemistry.

Many neuroscientists are unaware that the discovery of LSD-25 led to the idea that

neurochemicals might play a central rôle in cognitive processes (Cozzi, 2013). Today

the fact that neurotransmitters influence cognition is taken for granted. However,

before 1952 serotonin was thought to be a vasoconstrictor (hence the composite

lexeme “sero-tonin”). In 1952-53 serotonin (5-hydroxtryptamin, 5-HT) was discovered

in the brain by Betty Twarog, Irvine Page, and Sir Henry Gaddum (for a historical

review see Twarog, 1988). In 1953, Sir Gaddum took LSD in a self-experiment.

Shortly afterward he and his colleague published a paper on the antagonistic effects

of LSD on 5-HT (Gaddum & Hameed, 1954). Gaddum conjectured a common site of

action between both compounds and theorized that the neurocognitive effects of LSD

result from its action on 5-HT (Amin, Crawford, & Gaddum, 1954). Because he had

experienced the effects of LSD first-hand (self-experiments were quite common), he

knew that it produces significant mental changes. Knowing that LSD antagonizes 5-

HT, he made the novel theoretical connection for the first time in the documented

This is changing while we are writing this article. For instance, sub-threshold microdosing of

psychedelics has become a topic of renewed interest in the context of creativity (Anderson et al.,

2019). While we were in the process of revising this paper (after initial submission) a first pilot study

on 5-MeO-DMT was conducted by researchers in the Netherlands (Uthaug et al., 2019). This study

experimentally demonstrated positive effects of 5-MeO-DMT on convergent creative thinking, inter

alia.

In the United Kingdom, the recently ratified “Psychoactive substances act” which reached Royal

Assent in January 2016 complicates the matter by creating societal, political, and fiscal impediments

to scientific research into the neurobiology of psychedelics. For more information, see:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/2/contents/enacted

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

history of science. That is, Gaddum was the first to postulate that 5-HT might play a

rôle in cognition (Cozzi, 2013). This historical example clearly demonstrates that the

systematic study of psychedelic compounds is indispensable if science wants to

deepen its understanding of various psychological processes (e.g., creativity) and their

neuronal correlates. We agree with other creativity researchers that “evidence

gleaned from the structure and function of the brain [can] enhance our ability to

foster creativity” (Vartanian, 2013, p. 257; content in brackets added). We propound

that the systematic scientific exploration of the yet uninvestigated endogenous

compound 5-MeO-DMT may provide important novel insight into the neural

correlates of its currently only vaguely and anecdotally characterised psychological

and phenomenological effects. This type of innovative research has the potential to

foster our basic understanding of the evolutionary functions of various tryptamines

in human consciousness. Further, this research agenda may lead to novel

psychopharmacological interventions and aid in the elucidation of hitherto

unidentified neurotransmitter systems (cf. the pathbreaking discovery of the

endogenous cannabinoid system which heralded a new and rapidly growing field in

medicine). In addition, 5-MeO-DMTs molecular structure could be systematically

varied (cf. A. A. Shulgin & Shulgin, 1997) in order to rigorously explore structure–

activity relationships. Such research might in theory lead to the discovery of “super-

agonists” (Langmead & Christopoulos, 2013).

The exploration of synergistic effects

with other naturally occurring psychoactive substances (e.g., Ibogaine (Barsuglia et

al., 2018; Glick & Maisonneuve, 1998; Winkelman, 2015)) is another hitherto

uncharted and potentially very fruitful research area. In addition, allosteric

modulators are of great scientific interest in this respect (cf. Schwartz & Holst, 2007).

That is, the agonistic actions of 5-MeO-DMT can in principle be enhanced (>100%

efficacy) by various allosteric modulators (e.g., via allosteric modulators of G protein–

coupled receptors; cf. May, Leach, Sexton, & Christopoulos, 2007). Yet another

related important research question concerns the “entourage effect” (cf. Sanchez-

Ramos, 2015). The appurtenant open research question is: What are the

Supra-physiological describes a level of efficacy which is unseen in organisms which evolved

according to the principles of natural evolution.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

neuropsychopharmacological and phenomenological differences between the pure

compound (5-MeO-DMT synthesised in the laboratory) and the compound as found in

nature, i.e., within a whole complex biologism organism (toad venom, tree bark, seed

pods, etc.)?

In order to provide corroborating empirical evidence for our hypothesis that

psychedelics are important research tools in regard to creativity research, we will

now discuss two contemporary experimental studies which are pertinent to the

psychology and neuroscience of creativity. Based on the relevant literature (e.g., Nour

et al., 2016), we specifically argue that an understanding of the psychological and

neurophysiological processes which undergird ego-dissolution (i.e., nonduality) is

pivotal for advancing our scientific understanding of creativity. After introducing the

corroborating studies, we will provide more detailed information on the

underappreciated and virtually unresearched endogenously occurring compound 5-

MeO-DMT. Based on this empirical background we will then formulate several

empirically falsifiable hypotheses (the main hypothesis is presented in from of a

concise and logically valid syllogistic argument).

Psilocybin increases the personality-trait “Openness to Experience”

Psilocybin (O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is an indole alkaloid

(a structural relative of 5-MeO-DMT)

first synthesized and named by the Swiss

chemist Albert Hofmann

(Hofmann et al., 1959; 1958). After the elucidation of its

chemical properties the active principle, psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-

dimethyltryptamine), was identified (Hofmann & Troxler, 1959). Various

experimental chemical modifications were made to both structures (Troxler,

Seemann, & Hofmann, 1959). The psilocybin molecule is present in more than 200

Even though the chemical structure of both compounds is very similar their psychological effects

are incommensurable.

Albert Hofmann (1906–2008) also discovered LSD in 1938 but he was unaware of its

psychoactivity until 1943 when he conducted the first self-experiment. Hofmann, who later served as

a member of the Nobel Prize Committee, stated on his 100

birthday: “It gave me an inner joy, an

open mindedness, a gratefulness, open eyes and an internal sensitivity for the miracles of creation. [...]

I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a

tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

fungal species which span numerous taxa, some of which are endemic to the USA and

Europe, e.g., Psilocybe semilanceata (colloquially known as “Liberty Cap”). In cross-

cultural shamanic contexts, psilocybin has been reportedly utilized for spiritual and

healing purposes for millennia (Akers, Ruiz, Piper, & Ruck, 2011; Hofmann, Heim,

Brack, & Kobel, 1958). Its molecular structure closely resembles 5-hydroxtryptamine

(5-HT, serotonin). In humans, psilocybin functions as a prodrug and is rapidly

dephosphorylated to psilocin which acts as a non-selective partial 5-HT receptor

agonist. It shows particularly high binding affinity for the 5-HT

, 5-HT

, and 5-HT

receptor subtypes (Kraehenmann et al., 2015; Nichols, 2004).

A landmark study conducted at Johns Hopkins University by MacLean, Johnson, &

Griffiths (2011) experimentally demonstrated that a single high-dose of psilocybin

can induce long-lasting personality changes in the domain “Openness to Experience”,

as measured by the widely used NEO-PI (Personality Inventory). Openness to

Experience (OTE) is one of the core dimensions of the extensively employed

quinquepartite (big five) model of personality (i.e., factor V). OTE is an amalgamation

of several interconnected personality traits which include: 1) aesthetic appreciation

and sensitivity, 2) fantasy and imagination, 3) awareness of feelings in self and others,

and 4) intellectual engagement, inter alia.

Most relevant for the context at hand is

the fact that OTE has a strong and reliable correlation with creativity (Ivcevic &

Brackett, 2015; S. B. Kaufman et al., 2016; Silvia, Nusbaum, Berg, Martin, &

O’Connor, 2009).

Individuals with high scores on the OTE dimension are

“permeable to new ideas and experiences” and “motivated to enlarge their experience

into novel territory” (DeYoung, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005). Furthermore, OTE is

Interestingly in the present context, OTE has been correlated with the ability to recall dreams

(Watson, 2003).

For instance, the Pearson correlation coefficient for “global creativity” and OTE is r = .655 and for

“creative achievement” r = .481, By contrast, “Math–science creativity” is not statistically

significantly correlated with OTE (r =.059; ns; for further correlation between various facets of

creativity and the Big Five factors see Silvia, Nusbaum, Berg, Martin, & O’Connor, 2009). The

salient correlation between OTE and creativity has been reported in many studies (a pertinent meta-

analysis has been conducted by Feist, 1998; a recent study reporting a strong relationship between

OTE and creativity has been conducted by Puryear, Kettler, & Rinn, 2017). Furthermore, a meta-

analytical structural equation model of 25 independent studies showed that OTE is the strongest

FFM predictor of creative self-beliefs (r = .467; Karwowski & Lebuda, 2016).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

associated with personality trait “absorption” (Glisky, Tataryn, Tobias, Kihlstrom, &

McConkey, 1991) and we argue that absorption is a state of primordial awareness

akin to nondual consciousness. That is, absorption is a type of awareness in which

the dichotomy between the sensor and sensed, the percipient and perceived, the seer

and seen, transiently dissolves into a state of union which is devoid of any

intermediary imagistic, symbolic, or linguistic cognitive preconceptions which usually

intercede between the experience and the experienced (i.e., the thing “in itself” and

the experienced percept). It is therefore an undistorted state of pure and total

awareness without any abstraction and without a Kantian a priori space-time

interval

which generally mediates between subject and object and therefore pre-

structures the field of experience in a dualistic format. “Boundaries of the mind” is

another conceptually related trait associated with OTE and creativity. It relates to

the boundaries between fantasy and reality, sleeping and waking, self and other, and

furthermore, the “permeability of ego boundaries” (Hartmann, Rosen, & Rand, 1998;

McCrae, 1994).

In the described study by MacLean et al. (op cit.) the psilocybin-induced increase in

OTE was mediated by the intensity of the mystical experience. Importantly, ego-

dissolution is a central feature of mystical experiences (see also Griffiths, Richards,

McCann, & Jesse, 2006) and we argue that ego-dissolution can culminate in the peak

experience of nonduality. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that the experience

of ego-dissolution (viz., nonduality) predicts post eventum increases in creativity and

we postulate a causal relationship between factors. We term this the “less ego =>

more creativity hypothesis”. Furthermore, we argue that OTE is an important factor

relating to the status quo bias discussed before. OTE is associated with explorative

behaviour, novelty seeking,

and cognitive flexibility. From a neuroscientific

The interposition of the “space-time interval” which divides the percipient from the percept is an

idea adopted from Jiddu Krishnamurti mentioned in his book “Freedom from the Known”

(Krishnamurti, 1969) while the reference to Kantian apriorism is an annexure. The importance of

space-time in duality is especially intriguing given the fact that the effects of psychedelics are

associated with phenomenological aspatiality and atemporality.

Novelty or sensation seeking is a robust predictor of risk taking and drug use. This might lead to a

feedback loop in which those who are open to new experiences are more likely to be exposed to new

experiences (such as psilocybin or 5-MeO-DMT) which in turn reinforce their open-mindedness.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

perspective the status quo bias may be based on Hebbian principles of long-term

potentiation (LTP). That is, repeatedly utilized neural circuits are diachronically

strengthened (Hebb, 1949) and become dominant and rigid.

The social environment

may thus entrain the “Hebbian status quo”, i.e., the social milieu consolidates specific

neuronal circuitry (via social conditioning, education, enculturation, etc.).

Interestingly, complex system theory suggests a bipolar (orthogonal) continuum

ranging from rigidity on one end to chaos on the other. Integration lies interjacent

between the extremes. Given that the cognitive system can be regarded as a complex

system, this generic account might lend itself to conceptualise a “cognitive continuum

of information processing states” (Faust & Kenett, 2014) ranging from rigid cognition

to chaotic cognition (i.e., closed-mindedness to open-mindedness). In a rigid neural

network, nodes are only sparsely interconnected (i.e., cognitive hyper-rigidity). In a

chaotic neural network topology, on the other hand, virtually all nodes are

interconnected (i.e., cognitive over-flexibility/chaos). According to this schematic,

cognitive integration (viz., the linkage of differentiated parts (Siegel, 2010)) is

characterised by an intermediate neuronal network connectivity pattern which

balances and synchronizes the polar extremes (i.e., adaptive/dynamic cognitive

coherence). We argue that the balance between neuronal differentiation and

integration is of pertinence with respect to creativity research and the subsequent

section provides further details on this proposal, i.e., specifically with respect to the

effects of LSD-25 on brain-wide connectivity. In support of this quasi-Lockean

“associationist/connectivist” idea, recent neuroimaging work has correlated OTE with

increased functional connectivity within mesocortical networks (Passamonti et al.,

2014). It would therefore be of great interest to explicitly test the hypothesis that

increases in OTE (experimentally induced by psychedelics such as, e.g., psilocybin,

LSD, or 5-MeO-DMT) are mediated by increases in functional connectivity in specific

Using human cerebral organoids and in silico analysis it has been demonstrated that 5-MeO-DMT

has modulatory effects on proteins associated with the formation of dendritic spines and neurite

outgrowth (Dakic et al., 2017) which may influence neuroplasticity and hence ideoplasticity. 5-MeO-

DMT has been found to match the σ

receptor. Because σ

R agonism regulates dendritic spine

morphology and neurite outgrowth it affects neuroplasticity which form the neural substrate for

unconstrained cognition.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

networks, i.e., specifically those associated with introspection, self-control, and self-

referential processing (cf. Parkinson, Kornelsen, & Smith, 2019; Smigielski,

Scheidegger, Kometer, & Vollenweider, 2019).

LSD expands global functional connectivity density in the brain

LSD-25 is one of the most potent psychedelic compounds known to science, producing

profound alterations of consciousness after submilligram oral doses ≥20 µg (Nichols,

2018a). A recent multimodal fMRI study by Tagliazucchi et al. (2016) conducted at

Imperial College London administered LSD intravenously to healthy volunteers. The

researchers found that LSD-induced ego-dissolution was statistically significantly

correlated with an increase in global functional connectivity density (FCD) between

various brain networks, indicating that the psychedelic enabled novel configurations

of brain states. As discussed in the previous study by MacLean et al. (2011), mystical

experience (i.c., ego-dissolution) is correlated with an increase in OTE (which in turn

is strongly correlated with creativity). One of the key findings of the LSD/fMRI-study

was that high-level cortical regions and the thalamus displayed increased

connectivity under the acute influence of the psychedelic. In concreto, increased global

activity was observed bilaterally in the high-level association cortices and the

thalamus (often regarded as the brains “central information hub” which relays

information between various subcortical areas and the cerebral cortices). The global

activity increase in the higher-level areas partially overlapped with the default-mode,

salience, and frontoparietal attention networks. The FCD changes in the default-

mode and salience network were predicted a priori due their association with self-

consciousness. As predicted, a significant correlation between subjectively reported

ego-dissolution and an increase in global connectivity between networks was detected.

The results of this milestone study demonstrate for the first time that LSD increases

global inter-module connectivity (while at the same time decreasing the integrity of

individual modules). Specifically, LSD enhanced the connectivity between normally

separated brain networks (as quantified by the widely used Φ

Bertrand Russel discussed the links between mysticism, creative intuition/insight, and logic in

great detail in his excellent essay “Mysticism and logic” (Russell, 1981).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

connectivity/associativity index).

The observed changes in activity significantly

correlated with the anatomical distribution of 5-HT

receptors. We argue that these

findings are highly relevant for the identification of the neural correlates of creativity

because it is reasonable to postulate that an enhanced communication répertoire

between previously disconnected neuronal network modules is crucial for the

generation of novel ideas (cf. D. W. Moore et al., 2009). Moreover, associative

processes are generally assumed to play a key rôle in creativity (C. S. Lee, Huggins,

& Therriault, 2014) and a recent fMRI study provided corroborating evidence for the

assumption that greater functional connectivity is related to the capacity to generate

novel ideas (Beaty et al., 2018). The researchers argued that “the ability to

simultaneously engage the default, executive, and salience brain systems may

provide a neurophysiological marker of creative thinking ability”. Tagliazucchi et al.

concluded that LSD reorganizes the rich-club architecture of brain networks and that

this restructuring is accompanied by a shift of the boundaries between self and

environment. That is, the ego-based dichotomy (i.e., dualism) between self and other,

subject and object, internal and external, dissolves as a function of specific

connectivity changes in the modular networks of the brain.

In conclusio,

Tagliazucchi et al. (2016) demonstrated that LSD induced ego-dissolution is

The rich-club coefficient Φ is a networks metric which quantifies the degree to which well-

connected nodes (beyond a certain richness metric) also connect to each other. Hence, the rich-club

coefficient can be regarded as a notation which quantifies associativity. Conceptually related

research concluded that “associative abilities represent valid elementary cognitive abilities

underlying creativity” (Benedek, Könen, & Neubauer, 2012). We submit that this line of thought

connects to the quasi-Newtonian principle of idea formation described by John Locke in his seminal

book “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689), specifically the chapter entitled “On the

Associations of Ideas”.

Furthermore, the authors argue convincingly that the notion that LSD (and other psychedelics)

“expand” consciousness is quantitatively supported by their data. Specifically, they argue that the

neurophysiological changes associated with psychedelic states contrast with states of diminished

consciousness (e.g., deep sleep or general anesthesia). The obtained results are congruent with the

idea that psychedelic and unconscious states can be conceptualized as polar opposites on a

continuous spectrum of conscious states. Furthermore, the authors suggest that the level of

consciousness is quantitatively determined by the level of neuronal entropy (in accord with the

entropic brain hypothesis formulated by Carhart-Harris et al., 2014). It has been suggested that

Aldous Huxley “reduction valve” hypothesis appears to be relevant in this context.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

accompanied by significant changes in neuronal rich-club architecture and that ego-

dissolution is accompanied by the downregulation of the default-mode network

(DMN).

Pertaining to creativity research this finding is particularly intriguing

because the DMN may be associated with habitual thought and behaviour patterns

(Beucke et al., 2014; Koçak, Kale, & Çiçek, 2012). We suggest that downregulation of

the DMN by psychedelics (which is accompanied by the phenomenology of ego-

dissolution) is an important component for understanding the functional connectome

which undergirds creativity. Based on these findings, we propose a novel

neuropsychopharmacological mechanism for the enhancement of creativity which has,

to our best knowledge, never been proposed before. Our hypothesis highlights the

importance of ego-dissolution for the enhancement of creativity. That is, a reduction

of the influence of self-referential ego structures (ex hypothesi mediated via DMN

disintegration) on perception and cognition enables perspectival multiplicity and

cognitive flexibility which is crucial for creative ideation. Based on the conjecture that

ego-dissolution provides a “cognitive reset” which enables human beings to perceive

and conceptualize reality from a more unconstrained (and ultimately nondualistic)

perspective, we argue that 5-MeO-DMT is an especially intriguing molecule in this

regard because its ego-dissolving effects are much more pronounced than those of

psilocybin or LSD (or in fact any other known psychedelic). The “reset theory” is a

first primitive attempt to formulate a causal mechanism which could explain why ego

dissolution is associated with the hypothesized increase in creativity. Ego-dissolution

could enable humans to “see things with new eyes” — i.e., via a reduction of the

structuring and organizing influence of perceptual schemata

(i.e., preconception vs.

Recent evidence focusing on changes in the coupling of electrophysiological brain oscillations by

means of transfer entropy suggests that serotonergic psychedelics temporarily change information

transfer within neural hierarchies by decreasing frontal of top-down control, thereby releasing

posterior bottom-up information transfer from inhibition (Francesc Alonso, Romero, Angel Mañanas,

& Riba, 2015).

A potential explanatory mechanism might be found in the entropic brain hypothesis (Carhart-

Harris et al., 2014; Lebedev et al., 2016). Pertinent experimental evidence comes from a recent

magnetoencephalographic (MEG) study which showed that classical psychedelics increase signal

diversity (Schartner, Carhart-Harris, Barrett, Seth, & Muthukumaraswamy, 2017), a quantitative

finding which appears highly relevant in the context of contemporary creativity research.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

apperception). Empirical data indicates that ego-dissolution is a unique property of

psychedelic substances (Nour et al., 2016). In a web-based study utilizing the “Ego-

Dissolution Inventory” (EDI) several psychoactive substances were compared, and

the results showed that only psychedelics were significantly correlated with the

experience of ego dissolution. Per contra, other psychoactive substance like alcohol or

cocaine enhance an egoic style of cognition (ego inflation).

In the same study,

participants also responded to a subset of items from the “Mystical Experiences

Questionnaire” (MEQ) (Barrett, Johnson, & Griffiths, 2015). The results indicated a

positive correlation between psychedelic dose and the strength of the mystical

experience. As discussed, a defining feature of the mystical experience is an ego-

dissolving “unitive” (nondual) experience. In other terms, the noetic insight that

human beings are ultimately all connected via consciousness (which is singular and

not plural, i.e., the apparent multiplicity is a superficial phenomenon and

consciousness is in actuality not dividable). This topic has already been addressed by

William James more than a century ago (James, 1985/1902). Unity experience is

closely related to the Freudian concept of “oceanic feeling” (oceanic boundlessness) —

a sensation of being one with universe. In fact, Romain Rolland formulated the phrase

in a letter to Freud. Rolland argued that it is this nondual experience which lies at

the core of all religious feelings (theistic or nontheistic). Freud utilized this idea in

his later writings and hypothesized that this nondual state of consciousness is a

psychological residue from the infantile stage in which the egoic schism between self

and other (object and subject) has not yet occurred (Freud, 1930). That is, according

to Freud, nondual experiences are a relic of the developmental stage in which the

infants formation of the self-concept has not yet taken place and has consequently

not yet dichotomised experience (perception) into universal “self versus non-self”

dichotomies.

Interestingly, ego-dissolution was also statistically significantly correlated with enhanced well-

being/life-satisfaction (ρ = 0.392). For alcohol (ρ = −0.112) and cocaine (ρ = −0.083) this positive effect

was absent. However, due to the quasi-experimental nature of this study no solid inferential

conclusions are possible. Systematic experimental research is needed to elucidate this important

topic which has obvious societal relevance.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

5-MeO-DMT: An endogenous neurochemical catalyst of creativity

According to documented history, the intranasal administration of 5-MeO-DMT in

form of a snuff preparation called “Cohoba”

by the Taíno people of Hispaniola was

first observed around 1496 by Friar Ramón Pané who reported his observation to

Christopher Columbus who in 1492 made initial contact with this culture (Nunn &

Qian, 2010; Shultes, 1976; Torres & Repke, 2006). As regards contemporary science,

5-MeO-DMT is a relatively unknown member of a group of naturally-occurring

psychoactive indolealkylamines (Glennon & Rosecrans, 1982; A. T. Shulgin & Carter,

1980). It was first synthesized by Japanese chemists in 1936 who published their

results in German (Hoshino & Shimodaira, 1936). It was later extracted and isolated

from Dictyoloma incanescens bark (Pachter, Zacharias, & Ribeirol, 1959), a flowering

plants that belongs to the family Rutaceae. The tryptamine is an analogue of

tryptophan and endogenous to human physiology. Research indicates that 5-MeO-

The snuff was administered in a ceremonial setting in which the ground seeds of the cojóbana tree

(Anadenanthera peregrina) were inhaled via a Y-shaped pipe called Cohoba (Wright & Ortiz, 1941).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

DMT may be endogenously synthesized in human pineal and retina.

Moreover, it

has been detected in blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (H.-W. Shen, Jiang, Winter,

& Yu, 2010). Its extremely powerful acute effects are pharmacokinetically short-lived.

i.e., ≈ 20-40 min (Ott, 2001). As many other tryptamine psychedelics, it acts as a

nonselective 5-HT agonist and causes a broad spectrum of highly interesting

psychological effects. It displays a relatively high binding affinity for the 5-HT

, 5-

, and 5-HT

subtypes

(Krebs-Thomson, Ruiz, Masten, Buell, & Geyer, 2006),

but other mechanism of actions appear to be involved in its psychoactivity (e.g.,

inhibition of enzymatic monoamine oxidase activity; but see Nagai, Nonaka, & Satoh

From an evolutionary vantage point it is intriguing to note that the pineal functions as a

photoreceptive neuroendocrine organ in numerous vertebrates (Lamb, 2013). Functional and

morphological congruencies between photoreceptor cells on the pineal and the retina are indicative of

a close evolutionary relationship (Mano & Fukada, 2006). Phylogenetically, the “pineal eye” was a

paired organ with a similar structure the lateral eyes. This ontogenetic development and the

associated genetic pathway that regulate its development and neurogenesis strongly suggests that

“the pineal eye and the lateral eyes share a common genetic and embryologic basis” (Benoit, Abdala,

Manger, & Rubidge, 2016) That is, a shared genetic and molecular mechanisms undergirds their

similarities (Tosini, 1997). However, the pineal-specific physiological functions remain largely

elusive. Note that our knowledge of the photoreceptor system is in general very incomplete, for

instance, only recently a new opsin (labelled melanopsin) has been identified (Provencio et al., 2000).

We suggest that 5-MeO-DMT might further our understanding of the molecular and neurobiological

basis of visual perception (and imagination) — especially with relation to the shared properties of

the pineal and the retina. It is furthermore interesting to note that the “visionary” properties of 5-

MeO-DMT might not be “merely” metaphorical, but that metaphorical linguistic descriptions convey

a biological meaning which is hitherto only poorly understood (e.g., the expression “inner vision” or

“introspection” might describe an actual visual process which “focuses” on a domain which is hitherto

not sufficiently recognised). According to simulation theories of cognition (Hesslow, 2012) it may be

hypothesized that the visual system is intrinsically involved in “DMT-vision” and specifically the

function of the pineal is of interest against this adumbrated empirical and theoretical background

(cf. Benoit et al., 2016). To put it more poetically, 5-MeO-DMT might shed “new inner light” on

molecular and psychological processes associated with vision, visionary power, and imagination.

Interestingly, the 5-HT

receptor appears to be more important for the stimulus effects of 5-MeO-

DMT than the 5-HT

receptor (H.-W. Shen et al., 2010). This has been experimentally demonstrated

by various tests of antagonism of stimulus control with the 5-HT

antagonists pindolol (also a

nonselective β-blocker) and the “silent agonist” WAY-100635 (J. . Winter, Filipink, Timineri, Helsley,

& Rabin, 2000).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Hisashi Kamimura, 2007).

The 5-HT system is associated with, cognition, emotion,

and memory, inter alia. For example, 5-HT receptors are located in the cerebral cortex

(cognition), in the amygdala (emotions), and in the raphe nucleus (its projection

regulate circadian rhythms, alertness, inhibition of pain, inter alia). The raphe

nucleus is located in the phylogenetically most primitive part of the brain, the

brainstem, and its serotonergic axons project widely throughout the cortex. The raphe

nucleus produces the majority of brain serotonin and it contains ≈ 85% of all the of

the serotonin neurons in the brain (Hornung, 2003). Ergo, when it is stimulated by

5-MeO-DMT it causes extensive serotonergic activation throughout many

interconnected neural networks. Moreover, 5-HT receptors are present in the

hypothalamus which connects the central nervous system to the endocrine system. It

can be cogently argued that 5-MeO-DMT causes hypothalamic release of significant

amounts of the neuropeptide oxytocin via the pituitary gland. This hypothetical

increase in oxytocinergic activity might explain why the qualitative linguistic

descriptions of 5-MeO-DMTs phenomenology frequently include words like “love”,

“unity”, and “connectedness” (these semantic descriptors are obviously very

imprecise, vague, and ambiguous — a general problem of human language).

Accumulating evidence indicates that 5-MeO-DMT is an endogenous ligand of the

Trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), a class of G protein-coupled receptors that

were only recently discovered in 2001 (Carbonaro & Gatch, 2016). It has been

hypothesized that TAARs are involved in sensory perception (Wallach, 2009).

Moreover, TAARs have been associated with pathological neuroadaptations

associated with prolonged exposure to addictive drugs (e.g., alcohol, heroin, cocaine,

etc.). Consequently, this molecular target might partially explain 5-MeO-DMTs

promising neurorestorative and neuroprotective effects (Dakic, 2017). Because 5-

MeO-DMT is able to target these receptors it might be able to regulate the

It is important to note that 5-HT agonism does not explain the effects of all psychedelics. For

instance, the naturally occurring dissociative hallucinogen salvinorin A (the active principle in the

mint plant Salvia divinorum which has been utilised by indigenous Mazatec shamans) is not an

alkaloid but a terpenoid which agonizes the κ-opioid receptor, but is inactive at the 5-HT receptor

(Roth et al., 2002). It is therefore called an atypical psychedelic. Hofmann and Wasson were the first

Westerners to collect a specimen of this extraordinary plant in Oaxaca/Mexico in 1962 (Casselman,

Nock, Wohlmuth, Weatherby, & Heinrich, 2014).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

pathological neurological adaptions, for example those caused by various substance

(and possibly behavioural) addictions (cf. the neuropsychological “reset-hypothesis”

(e.g., Carhart-Harris et al., 2017)). Hence 5-MeO-DMT might counteract rigid

cognitive and behavioural patterns and facilitate cognitive flexibility (cf. Gruner &

Pittenger, 2017). In support of this view, a recent cutting-edge in vivo and in silico

study using human cerebral organoids (Dakic et al., 2017) demonstrated that 5-MeO-

DMT has modulatory effects on neuroplastic processes, long-term potentiation,

cytoskeletal reorganization, and microtubule dynamics (cf. Hameroff & Penrose,

2014). Specifically, it was found that 5-MeO-matches the σ

receptor which regulates

cytoskeletal dendritic spine morphology and neurite outgrowth. Therefore, σ

receptor

agonism may potentially mediate neuroplastic processes which are crucial for

creativity, cognitive flexibility, and sustained cognitive/behavioural changes (Sun et

al., 2016). In addition, agonism of the σ

receptor has been shown to have anti-

inflammatory effects (Szabo, 2015) which may positively influence various creativity

related cognitive processes and also genetic/cellular health, e.g., a hypothetical link

between creativity, depression, inflammation, and telomeres (via telomerase activity)

(see Wolkowitz et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2016). A related study recently demonstrated

that 5-MeO-DMT increases in vivo adult hippocampal neurogenesis in mice (Lima da

Cruz, Moulin, Petiz, & Leão, 2018). The researchers administered a single dose of 5-

MeO-DMT (via intracerebroventricular injection) and measured subsequent

quantitative increases in cell proliferation of granule cells (GC) within the dentate

gyrus (DG) of the subgranular zone of the hippocampus. Neurogenesis was

accompanied by a complexification of GC dendritic morphology, i.e., more complex

dendritic tress relative to controls. These findings indicate that 5-MeO-DMT can can

increase neuronal survival, stimulate cell proliferation, and accelerate maturation of

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

newborn neurons in the hippocampal DG region.

Comparable results have

previously been obtained with psilocybin (Catlow, Song, Paredes, Kirstein, &

Sanchez-Ramos, 2013) which is suggestive of a common serotonergic mechanism of

action which is causative for the observed increases in adult hippocampal

neurogenesis.

5-MeO-DMT is widespread in the plant kingdom and has been used in shamanic

rituals for millennia (Torres et al., 1991). While its structural relative psilocybin is

exclusively present in fungi, 5-MeO-DMT is present in various plants, for instance

Virola theiodora (Agurell et al., 1969), a tree species belonging to the Myristicaceae

(nutmeg) family. In additions to its relatively ubiquitous phytochemical distribution,

it is present in high concentrations in the venom of Incilius alvarius (known as the

Sonoran Desert toad), an Amphibia which produces significant amounts of 5-Meo-

DMT in its numerous parotoid glands as a defensive chemical mechanism against

predators (Erspamer, Vitali, Roseghini, & Cei, 1965; Hutchinson & Savitzky, 2004).

The salience of toad symbolism in Mesoamerican art and mythology is remarkable

and well documented by anthropologists, for example, toad effigies (with oftentimes

accentuated glands) are prominent in the historical remains of the Mayan and Aztec

cultures (Davis & Weil, 1992).

Moreover, 5-MeO-DMT is sometime used as an

adjunct in certain variations of Ayahuasca (a drinkable plant-based concoction, which

is utilized by indigenous tribes in the Amazonian rainforest for divinatory and

healing purposes). For instance, the leaves of the plant “Chaliponga” (Diplopterys

cabrerana) are occasionally added to the concoction to intensify its psychoactive

effects (Callaway et al., 2006; Rätsch, 1998). Therefore, synergistic effects between 5-

The researchers did not measure neurotrophins such as NGF and BDNF. Various growth factor

concentrations would be a factor of great interest (cf. Rossi et al., 2006). Further, we suggest that 5-

Meo-DMT effects mitochondrial bioenergetics and that this stipulated mechanism is pertinent in the

context of 5-MeO-DMT-induced neurogenesis and neurorestoration (cf. Martorana et al., 2018). To

facilitate a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms future studies should also examine

the expression of associated genes such as BCL2 gene (cf. H. G. Kuhn et al., 2005). Research along

this line might provide important insights into the anti-addictive mechanisms of 5-MeO-DMT which

are currently mainly hypothetical (Barsuglia et al., 2018; cf. McClintick et al., 2013).

For example, toad-effigies and iconography (with accentuated glands) are found in archaeological

excavation from ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures, e.g., artworks of “Tlaltecuhtli" – the earth or

earth mother as a monstrous toad (Furst, 1972).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

MeO-DMT and DMT should be systematically examined in future studies. We

suggest nonlinear interactions between these compounds, i.e., the effects are not

additive but multiplicative and this hypothesis should be testable using various

neuroimaging techniques. Furthermore, interactions between compounds may reveal

novel insights into the differential phenomenological aspects of 5-Meo-DMT and DMT

which would not be possible if each compound would be investigated in isolation.

5-MeO-DMT has been utilized for spiritual purposes as a religious sacrament in the

rituals of the Christian “Church of the Tree of Life” and other syncretic churches.

Indeed a “bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model” has recently been proposed which is based

on the persuasive premise that tryptaminergic psychedelics may have “therapeutic

effects against various diseases of civilization” (Frecska, Bokor, & Winkelman, 2016).

The unique transcendental phenomenology which is elicited by 5-MeO-DMT has

influenced the “visionary arts”. Artworks inspired by 5-MeO-DMT experiences are

oftentimes geometrically highly complex and depict multidimensional fractal-like

symmetric mathematical structures

an observation which is particularly intriguing

from a neuroaesthetics point of view (cf. Ramachandran & Hirstein, 1999). Despite

See, for example, https://www.fractalimagination.com

Interestingly, under the influence of low doses of LSD spiders spin webs of greater regularity (Witt,

1951). Other researchers applied fractal theory to investigate “the correlation between the fractal

structure of spider’s web and the fractal dynamics of its brain signal” (Namazi, 2017).

Mathematics and particularly its subordinate branch geometry have always been regarded as

cognitive activities which enable access to transcendental/metaphysical realms (e.g., Pythagoras's

theorem, Plato's transcendent forms) and there is a longstanding well-documented interrelation

between geometry, mathematics, and mysticism (e.g., sacred geometry, Fibonacci numbers, etc.), as

has been pointed out by eminent mathematicians who argue for the pivotal importance of mystical

influences in the history of mathematics (e.g., Abraham, 2015, 2017). For instance, it has been

argued that there is a close relation between geometry, space-time, and consciousness (Beutel, 2012),

a perspective which can be found in many religions and ancient wisdom traditions, e.g. Yantra

(Sanskrit: य) and Mandala (मडल) in ancient Indian schools of thought (also found in Buddhism, inter

alia). Moreover, geometry was pivotal for the progress of the exact sciences like cosmology and

astronomy. For example, when the Lutheran astronomer Johannes Keppler’s published his

“mysterium cosmographicum” at Tübingen in 1596, he based his theory on five Pythagorean

polyhedra (Platonic solids) which he conjectured form the basis of the structure of the universe and

thus realise God's ideas through geometry (Voelkel, 1999).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

its longstanding usage in the course of human evolution

, controlled human trials

are currently lacking, and science knows very little about the psychological effects of

5-MeO-DMT. This research area is thus truly uncharted novel scientific territory (and

its exploration required openness to experience on the part of the research

community; ibid., p. 28). In line with prior related arguments (Osmond, 1957) it has

recently been argued that 5-MeO-DMT is of “potential interest for schizophrenia

research owing to its hallucinogenic properties” and that research on this compound

can “help to understand the neurobiological basis of hallucinations” (Riga, Soria,

Tudela, Artigas, & Celada, 2014).

However, it is noteworthy that 5-MeO-DMT

induced visual hallucinations are much less commonly reported compared to its

structural analogue N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which is reliably capable of

inducing the most spectacular and vivid visual phenomena possibly imaginable (but

see Strassman, 2001). We would like to emphasise that the current research Zeitgeist

is very biased towards neuromechanistic explanations and we maintain that the most

intriguing effects of psychedelics on the human psyche (i.e., consciousness) cannot be

reduced to molecular mechanism and neuronal interactions. The Crickean

stipulation that “a person’s mental activities are entirely due to the behaviour of nerve

cells, glial cells, and the atoms, ions, and molecules that make them up and influence

them” is not very plausible. In accordance with our view, Cristof Koch (who

collaborated with Crick over several years in an unsuccessful attempt to solve the

The long history of human usage of this naturally occurring compound in various cultures suggests

that it does not convey a significant disadvantage in terms of evolutionary fitness i.e.,

mutation/natural selection (cf. Martin & Nichols, 2018). Profit-oriented pharmaceutical companies,

on the other hand, actively market patented synthetic designer drugs which do not have any

evolutionary track record and might cause all kinds of unforeseen neurological, genetic, and

epigenetic problems in the long run (cf. Kim et al., 2009), for instance, the widespread prescription of

methylphenidate (e.g., Ritalin) in preschool children (Keane, 2008), based on questionable DSM-5

nosology (Phillips et al., 2012b, 2012c, 2012d, 2012a). In contrast to patentable

psychopharmacological agents, there is no revenue model for naturally occurring psychedelics in the

merely profit-oriented capitalistic paradigm.

An animal neuroimaging study conducted by Riga et al. (2014) showed that 5-MeO-DMT decreased

BOLD responses in the striate cortex (V1) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).

Quotation by Francis Crick (*1916;†2004; co-discoverer of the molecular double-helix structure of

DNA) from his book “The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific search for the Soul” (published in

1994).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

hard problem of consciousness in a materialistic reductionist framework) for some

unknown reason changed his mind on this most fundamental topic. He wrote the

following in a 2014 Scientific American article entitled “Is Consciousness Universal”:

We propose that 5-MeO-DMT can help to shed new light quanta on the hard problem

of consciousness which has engaged philosophers since time immemorial

(neuroscience has only very recently joined the debate). Specifically, the tryptamine

can provide first-hand (qualitative) insights into the ultimately nondual nature of

mind and matter and the universality of consciousness — i.e., a higher perspective

on human existence. In contemporary consciousness research the mind is often

equated with consciousness. However, mind ≠ consciousness. This is easily verifiable

because cognition (thought) is an object of consciousness (otherwise introspection on

mental events would be impossible). Thus, the mind is situated within consciousness

and it needs to be accentuated that science is an activity of the mind. Ergo, science is

an activity within the mind which, in turn, is situated within consciousness. The

statement that science can objectively investigate consciousness is thus a non sequitur.

This relates to the ancient self-referential (autopoietical/recursive) question about the

relationship between the seer and the seen (Sanskrit: Dṛg-Dṛśya): Can the seer be

seen? Can consciousness investigate itself? Thus, the quintessential question is: Who

introspects on the mind and its contents (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, etc.). In

other words, who is the experiencer, who is the knower, who is the seer? Who is the

“Yet the mental is too radically different for it to arise gradually from the physical.

This emergence of subjective feelings from physical stuff appears inconceivable

and is at odds with a basic precept of physical thinking, the Ur-conservation

law—ex nihilo nihil fit. So if there is nothing there in the first place, adding a

little bit more won’t make something. If a small brain won’t be able to feel pain,

why should a large brain be able to feel the godawfulness of a throbbing

toothache? Why should adding some neurons give rise to this ineffable feeling?

The phenomenal hails from a kingdom other than the physical and is subject to

different laws. I see no way for the divide between unconscious and conscious

states to be bridged by bigger brains or more complex neurons.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

ultimate conscious “I”? The 8

century Indian logician Jagadguru Shankaracharya

provided the following précis of the timeless nondual philosophy:

Nonduality is first-hand experience. It cannot be objectified. This fact does not

exclude it from scientific discourse. Science is an open-ended enterprise and its

methods evolve (n.b., there is no “scientific” consensus about what exactly constitutes

the scientific method, e.g., the Popperian demarcation problem). By definition, science

is concerned with knowledge (lat. scire = “to know”) – that is, any kind of knowledge

(but see the Jamesian “radical empiricism” argument in the discussion section).

Science does not preclude non-objectifiable self-knowledge. In fact, the Greek

intellectual tradition (which laid the very groundwork for contemporary thought)

placed great emphasis on self-knowledge as exemplified by the aphorism γνῶθι

σεαυτόν (“know thyself”). In opposition to the dominant Zeitgeist, science is thus not

exclusively concerned with the material aspects of existence. Paradoxically, 5-MeO-

DMT provides a neurochemical (material) method which reliably induced the first-

hand transcendental experience of nonduality. There are other much more arduous

pathways to achieve nondual insights such as mediation and sophisticated yogic

exercises. However, they are much more demanding and hence unreliable than the

“direct” neurochemical route. Consequently, it would be of great interest to

investigate whether these ancient techniques induce neuronal and psychological

changes which are similar to those induces by 5-MeO-DMT and its structural

“Even in the state of ignorance, when one sees something, through what

instrument should one know That owing to which all this is known? For that

instrument of knowledge itself falls under the category of objects. The knower

may desire to know not about itself, but about objects. As fire does not burn itself,

so the self does not know itself, and the knower can have no knowledge of a thing

that is not its object. Therefore through what instrument should one know the

knower owing to which this universe is known, and who else should know it? And

when to the knower of Brahman who has discriminated the Real from the unreal

there remains only the subject, absolute and one without a second, through what

instrument, O Maitreyī, should one know that Knower?”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

relatives. Specifically, future studies should clarify whether the production and

release of DMT-related endogenous substances can be intentionally increased by

various techniques (e.g., meditation, music, yoga, physical exercise, mood

manipulation, stress, pain, anxiety, mortality salience, etc.). It has been reported that

average daily output of melatonin from the pineal gland is ≈ 30 μg (Nichols, 2018b).

Based on this quantity it has been argued that the endogenous amount of DMT is about





of what would be needed to achieve psychoactivity (the exact threshold is currently

undefined). It would therefore be of fundamental interest to investigate if the endogenous

synthesis of various tryptamines in the pineal (and elsewhere) can be stimulated, and if

so, to determine the maximum output capacity of various glandular systems under

varying conditions.

Further, it may be assumed that there are interindividual

differences in the production and release of various tryptaminergic neuro-hormones

(which may be rooted in genetic variability). It is a well-established fact that there are

individual differences in pineal gland volume and these have been related to autism

(Maruani et al., 2019) which can be regarded as a “disorder” of consciousness.

Chronobiology and various “states” of consciousness (e.g., dreaming/waking states) are

closely related and tryptamines such as melatonin have been related to various mental

disorders such as depression and anxiety.

5-MeO-DMT exerts extremely profound acute and chronic effects on the self-concept

(ego). Here, the term ego is not used as defined in the classical Freudian tripartite

model (Freud, 1923), but it refers to the concept of an encapsulated ego identity, that

It has been argued that the amount of L-tryptophan (a precursor of 5-HT and DMT) is only

available in minute amounts in human serum , i.e., the reported concentration is ≈ 12.98 ± 0.37

μg/mL (Comai et al., 2010) and that the availability of biochemical basic material constitutes a

limiting factor. However, if this data is generalizable across various populations remains an open

question which warrants further exploration.

Interestingly, the adaptogenic properties of melatonin have recently been emphasized (Zakharov,

Khivintseva, Pyatin, Sergeeva, & Antipov, 2019) and we submit that 5-MeO-DMT likewise has

adaptogenic properties which support organismal homeostasis on various levels (cf. recent research

on its anti-inflammatory and neurorestorative effects). The “adaptogen concept” is controversial in

mainstream science but there is exists a plethora of evidence in support of its validity – mainly from

Chinese research (T.-S. Chen, Liou, & Chang, 2008). Western science is is slowly integrating the

concept (Panossian, Wikman, Kaur, & Asea, 2012). 5-MeO-DMT is specifically interesting in this

regard as creativity might be seen as a psychological aspect of adaptation and psychological and

physiological homeostasis might be intimately interlinked.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

is, who we think we are as human beings. Thus, the usage of the term ego is more

closely aligned with the ancient Sanskrit term “Ahaṃkāra” as defined in Vedic

philosophy (cf. Cartesian positional identity; Comfort, 1979). For example, the great

scientist of the mind Patañjali writes in Sanskrit:

In the Indian contemplative tradition, the overcoming of egocentrism is a precondition for spiritual

progress.

The founder of quantum physics, Nobel laurate Erwin Schrödinger, was deeply

impressed by the depth of Vedāntic philosophy in relation to consciousness and he expressed this

eloquently in his seminal book “What is Life”:

We suggest that the ancient Indian concept of Māyā is essential in order to

appreciate the unveiling effects of psychedelics. Māyā connotes “that which exists, but

is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal” (Hiriyanna, 1995). It has been

roughly translated as illusion even though this translation has its shortcomings

(translations from Sanskrit into English face many hermeneutical difficulties, a

Interestingly, a related idea can be found in Islam. The concept of Jihad al-Nafs can be translated

as “an inner striving or struggle to overcome the ego/nafs” – i.e., the great inner struggle to heal the

heart’s diseases (see Al-Khomeini, 1940; Al-Arba'ūn Ḥadīthān, transl.: “Forty Hadith”).

�दशनशयोरेकामतैवािमता

॥६॥

“To identify consciousness with that which merely reflects consciousness – this is

egoism.” (Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, cap. 2, aphorism 6).

“The only possible alternative is simply to keep the immediate that consciousness

is a singular of which the plural is unknown; that there is only one thing and

that, which seems to be a plurality, is merely a series of different aspects of this

one thing, produced by a deception (the Indian Maya); the same illusion is

produced in a gallery of mirrors, and in the same way Gaurisankar and Mt.

Everest turned out to be the same peak seen from different valleys.” (Schrödinger,

1944, p. 89).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

better twofold Vedantic translation is “projection” and “veil”).

Apropos the

propounded differentiation between mind and consciousness Māyā refers to the

fluctuating contents of the mind.

In this theoretical/phenomenological framework, the ego can be conceptualized as

a filter or a lens which converts experiences and creates the appearance of change

and diversity while the underlying reality is timeless unity. Pure consciousness lies

beyond the mind and the ego construct and is “that which perceives” (cf. Josipovic,

2010, 2014). While the ego identifies with the dualistic and ephemeral contents of

sensory experience, consciousness itself does not (Sivananda, 1972). Consciousness

itself has no associated identity. It is a detached unchanging witness of experience.40

Sir Arthur Eddington articulated similar thoughts:

A connatural concept can also be found in Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” (Res Publica, book 7, 514a–

520a). Plato was very much concerned with eternal forms and most mathematicians can be regarded

as Platonists (Burnyeat, 2000; Mueller, 2005) even though they might not be explicitly aware of this

philosophical heritage (cf. the importance of Δianoia in Plato's “Theory of Forms” (Cooper, 1966;

Tanner, 1970)). Interestingly, Plato’s allegory has recently been revived in the context of quantum

dynamics and quantum computation, particularly with regard to the quantum Zeno effect (Misra &

Sudarshan, 1977; Peres, 1980; Stapp, 2001) and “projected” reality perceived through

noncommutative “sequences of measurements” (but see Burgarth et al., 2014).

Note that this statement is not objectively verifiable in a detached manner. It can only be derived

from the first-hand phenomenological experience (i.e., ego-dissolution caused by meditation,

introspection, psychedelics, spontaneous epiphany, etc.). Ego-less pure awareness plays a central

rôle in many ancient philosophical schools of thought (Advaita Vedānta, Mahāyāna and Zen

Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, i.a.). It also relates to the Western literature on the Cartesian and

Heisenbergian cut, where the former refers to the dichotomy between the material world (res

extensa) and its non-material counterpart (res cogitans), while the latter refers to the cut between an

object and its environment which is crucial in the context of modern quantum physics (see

Atmanspacher, 1997).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

More recently it has been argued along the same vein that physics faces its final

frontier – i.e., consciousness (Stapp, 2007). For instance, the “von Neumann-Wigner

interpretation”, also referred to as "consciousness caused collapse of Ψ”, postulates

that consciousness is an essential factor in quantum measurements. Von Neumann

used the term “subjective perception” (Von Neumann, 1955) which is closely related

to the complementarity principle in psychophysics, viz., the complementarity of

sensation & perception (J. C. Baird, 1997). Accordingly, Henry Stapp argued in his

seminal paper “Quantum Theory and the Role of Mind in Nature”:

“The mind-stuff of the world is, of course, something more general than our

individual conscious minds. […] The mind-stuff is not spread in space and time;

these are part of the cyclic scheme ultimately derived out of it. […] It is necessary

to keep reminding ourselves that all knowledge of our environment from which

the world of physics is constructed, has entered in the form of messages

transmitted along the nerves to the seat of consciousness. […] Consciousness is

not sharply defined, but fades into subconsciousness; and beyond that we must

postulate something indefinite but yet continuous with our mental nature. […] It

is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept the view that the substratum

of everything is of mental character. But no one can deny that mind is the first

and most direct thing in our experience, and all else is remote inference.”

(Eddington, 1929, pp. 276–281)

“From the point of view of the mathematics of quantum theory it makes no sense

to treat a measuring device as intrinsically different from the collection of atomic

constituents that make it up. A device is just another part of the physical universe.

[...] Moreover, the conscious thoughts of a human observer ought to be causally

connected most directly and immediately to what is happening in his brain, not

to what is happening out at some measuring device. [...] Our bodies and brains

thus become [...] parts of the quantum mechanically described physical universe.

Treating the entire physical universe in this unified way provides a conceptually

simple and logically coherent theoretical foundation.” (Stapp, 2001)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

We argue that these epistemological and ontological considerations have deep implications for the

philosophy (and hence practice) of science (n.b., there is no science devoid of philosophy — only

science which incorporates philosophical axioms as a priori given without explicit reflection on

their validity/veridicality). The nondual perceptive challenges the predominant reductive

materialism stance and it might ultimately facilitate a Kuhnian paradigm shift with far-reaching

ramification across disciplines (i.e., a transdisciplinary paradigm-shift). A nondual conception of

reality might enable new ways of psychophysical scientific experimentation which are unthinkable

in the current materialistic paradigm (which entails a significant amount of unjustified

Cartesian/Newtonian assumptions which might implicitly “block” alternative ideas). With respect

to scientific experimentation (and data collection) Eddington provided the following brilliant

analogy in his book “The Philosophy of Physical Science” (1938) which illustrates how the

“conceptual/perceptual cognitive net” determines the character of scientific inquiry:

“Let us suppose that an ichthyologist is exploring the life of the ocean. He casts a

net into the water and brings up a fishy assortment. Surveying his catch, he

proceeds in the usual manner of a scientist to systematise what it reveals. He

arrives at two generalisations:

1) No sea-creature is less than two

inches long.

2) All sea-

creatures have gills.

These are both true of his catch, and he assumes tentatively that they will remain

true however often he repeats it. In applying this analogy, the catch stands for

the body of knowledge which constitutes physical science, and the net for the

sensory and intellectual equipment which we use in obtaining it. The casting of

the net corresponds to observation; for knowledge which has not been or could not

be obtained by observation is not admitted into physical science. An onlooker may

object that the first generalisation is wrong. ‘There are plenty of sea-creatures

under two inches long, only your net is not adapted to catch them.’ The

icthyologist dismisses this objection contemptuously. ‘Anything uncatchable by

my net is ipso facto outside the scope of icthyological knowledge. In short, what

my net can't catch isn't fish.’ Or — to translate the analogy — ‘If you are not

simply guessing, you are claiming a knowledge of the physical universe

discovered in some other way than by the methods of physical science, and

admittedly unverifiable by such methods. You are a metaphysician. Bah!’”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

We submit that 5-MeO-DMT is by far the most effective pharmacological agent for

the controlled induction of nondual states of consciousness and consequently the

restructuring of the “cognitive net”. Given the postulated complementarity between

psyche & physis, nondual states of consciousness are accompanied by physiological

changes in the neuronal architecture of the brain, i.e., the conceptual net (mind) and

the neuronal net (matter) are complementary aspect of the same underlying

“substance”, a tertium quid,

viz., universal consciousness. In simplistic terms, by

changing the brain the mind changes and, vice versa, by changing the mind the brain

changes. Consciousness itself remains unaffected. Therefore, it does not make much

sense to speak about “states of consciousness”. Consciousness is an immutable

singular — it is the experiencer (that which experiences change — viz., “it” is the

nontransient observer of the fluctuating contents of the mind).

5-MeO-DMT has been described as a prototypical entheogen (Metzner, 2015) and it

is psychologically and pharmacologically much more potent than its structural

relatives (e.g., N,N-Dimethyltryptamine), i.e., qualitatively and quantitatively. An

entheogen (Ruck, Bigwood, Staples, Ott, & Wasson, 1979) is a chemical substance

(used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual contexts) that has the potential to produce

profound psycho-spiritual insights and changes. From a philological point of view, the

Irenæus (c. AD 196) wrote the following in “Against Heresies” (§2.1.3): ”Since they say that

something exists outside the Pleroma, into which they think that Power wandering from above came

down, they must choose one of two views. Either this “outside” will contain the Pleroma and the

Pleroma will be contained—otherwise there will not be something “outside,” for if anything is outside

the Pleroma the Pleroma will necessarily be within what they call outside the Pleroma, and the

Pleroma, with the first God, will be contained by what is outside; or else the Pleroma and what is

outside it will be immensely distant and separated from each other. But if they say this, there will be a

‘tertium quid’ with this immense separation between the Pleroma and what is outside it, and this

‘tertium quid’ will limit and contain the other two, and will be greater than both the Pleroma and

what is outside it, since it contains both in its bosom.” (Grant, 1996, p. 108, cap. “Divine

transcendence”). Here the term pleroma could be translated as “fullness” and it thus emphasizes

holism and totality in contrast to reductionism and the separation of constituent parts, e.g., pleroma

tes theotetos (transl.: “the whole completeness of the divine nature” (Colossians 2:9). The antonym of

pleroma is hystêrema (incompletion). Interestingly, a diagrammatic representation of pleroma (after

the gnosticValentinus) which consists of nested triangles and pentagrams is very similar to the Sri

Yantra in Hinduism which symbolises nonduality. Valentinus held there exists a tripartite typology

of human beings, 1) the material, 2) the psychical, 3) the spiritual, while only the latter would be

able to receive gnosis (knowledge) of the ultimate.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

etymology of the neologism “entheogen” is a compound lexeme derived from the

ancient Greek ἔνθεος (entheos) and γενέσθαι (genesthai) and translates into

“generating the divine from within“ (cf. “enthusiasm”). 5-MeO-DMT is a ceremonial

sacrament (eucharist) of the “Church of the Tree of Life”. Hence, interdisciplinary

research on 5-MeO-DMT might provide further impetus for the emerging new

neuroscientific paradigm which goes by the name “neurotheology” (Winkelman,

2004). Following this line of thought it has been stated by the eminent neurobiologist

Efrain C. Azmitia that “the ability of these drugs to induce a feeling of closeness to

God is a special property of the indoles and this property is attributed to activation of

the cortical 2A serotonin receptor” (Azmitia, 2012).

We would like to recapitulate the crux of our argument: Given its phenomenological

profundity and its unparalleled efficiency to dissolve ego structures we propose that

the psychological effects of 5-MeO-DMT and associated neural correlates should be

systematically investigated in order to elucidate the postulated connection between

nondual (ego-less) states of consciousness and the stipulated enhancement of

creativity. One pillar of this hypothesis is the idea that ego-dissolution is associated

with a breakdown of linguistic structures

(hence the characteristic ineffability of its

phenomenology/quale). According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic

relativism (Sapir, 1929), language structures cognition and perception in significant

ways. Ergo, we hypothesize that a release from the strong aprioristic schematising

influences of linguistic processes facilitates a more unrestrained (pre-linguistic) style

of cognition and perception. Further, we argue that the collapse of the psychophysical

“subject versus object” dichotomy into nondual experience has enormous potential for

complex cognitive restructuring at multiple levels of analysis (cf. Josipovic, 2010).

“Ego exitus” (the apex of ego-dissolution, i.e., ego death) is emotionally and cognitively

extremely challenging, an observation which resonates with the “hardship model of

creativity” (Forgeard, 2013). At the same time the extremely challenging experience

Indeed, anecdotal reports indicate that it can cause glossolalia and xenolalia which are very

interesting linguistic phenomena that have been investigated in the context of religion and altered

states of consciousness (cf. Grady & Loewenthal, 1997; Kavan, 2004) and also from a neuroscientific

perspective (Philipchalk & Mueller, 2000). We therefore suggest that 5-MeO-DMT is of great interest

to researchers in these fields.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

of ego-dissolution and ultimately ego-death may have significant positive

therapeutic/cathartic effects which are of essential pertinence in in relation to

creativity research (e.g., release from severe traumata, access to repressed

unconscious materials, surfacing of archetypal symbolisms, etc.). The experiences

induced by 5-MeO-DMT are tremendously radical

and therefore capable to disperse

deeply engrained cognitive/perceptual schemata

, thereby enabling a more

unrestricted style of cognition.

Specifically, we argue that due to its unparalleled

ego-dissolving properties 5-MeO-DMT facilitates a less self-centred and hence more

unbiased style of cognition which is a condicio sine qua non for creativity. This

hypothesis is empirically falsifiable in the Popperian sense and various established

cognitive testing procedures

could be utilized to test this hypothesis experimentally.

It has been argued elsewhere that “increased creativity may […] constitute a manifestation of

posttraumatic growth, defined as retrospective perceptions of positive psychological changes that take

place following experiences of highly challenging life circumstances” (Forgeard, 2013, p. 245).

Interestingly, preliminary evidence suggests that psilocybin is effective in the treatment of

addiction, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (Bogenschutz et al., 2015; Carhart-Harris

et al., 2016). This is congruent with the formulated idea that 5-MeO-DMT has the potential to

change persistent habitual modes of thought.

This idea could be empirically tested, for instance, by utilizing a semantic priming paradigm in

order to investigate spread of activation (as proxy for verbal creativity). Exemplary studies have

been conducted with the dopamine precursor L-Dopa by, for example, Kischka et al. (1996) in order

to investigate the rôle of dopaminergic neurotransmission in verbal creativity. Anecdotal evidence

suggest that serotonergic psychedelics can enhance verbal creativity significantly (longitudinally). In

the acute phase, many psychedelics interfere strongly with the linguistic system (a breakdown of

semantic and syntactic facilities is oftentimes reported). Ergo, frontal and temporal lobe language

areas such as Broca's and Wernicke's area and the arcuate fasciculus are likely involved. We suggest

that temporarily induced receptive and expressive aphasia are of interest in this context. Further,

the differential influence on the left and right hemisphere are a topic of great interest. It would be

interesting to examine if 5-MeO-DMT releases the right hemisphere from contralateral inhibition,

that is, does it influence hemispheric dominance (i.e., local versus global processing in the context of

asymmetric hemispheric lateralization of function); cf. “right hemispheric dominance theory of

creative thinking” (W. Shen et al., 2013).

It should be noted that psychedelics might cause serious psychological harm to certain populations

with psychopathological dispositions (possibly due to specific 5-HT receptor polymorphisms). In rare

cases the DSM-5 diagnosis “Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder” (HPPD) is applied (low

incidence rate) (for a review consult Halpern, Lerner, & Passie, 2016). Careful psychological

screening is crucial for ethically responsible research (for research safety guidelines see Johnson,

Richards, & Griffiths, 2008).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

(Creativity is generally conceptualised as a multi-dimensional construct and various

facets of creativity may be affected differentially.) The logic which undergirds our

theorizing can be formalized using propositional logic, i.e., in form of a syllogistic

argument (see Syllogism #1 below). Specifically, we postulate that ego-dissolution

can culminate in a state of nondual consciousness which is phenomenologically,

biochemically, and neuroanatomically similar to those reported in numerous

ancient wisdom traditions such as Advaita Vedānta and Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Nondual experiences have been reported since time immemorial and, for the first

time, science is now in a position to investigate them in a systematic fashion

(ideally in a holistic manner across multiple levels of explanation, i.e., by

combining the epistemic/qualitative with the ontic/quantitative level of analysis).

It is hypothesized that nondual states of consciousness induced by 5-MeO-DMT

shift the global connectivity patterns between intrinsic networks and extrinsic

networks. These networks are thought to be anticorrelated. In terms of large-scale

neuroanatomical organization. According to current knowledge, the intrinsic

network includes rather broadly defined areas in the medial prefrontal cortices,

the posterior cingulate cortices, the precunei, the inferior parietal lobule, and

temporal areas such as parts of the hippocampi (Cavanna, 2007; Josipovic, 2014).

Its activity has been associated with a broad array of self-referential cognitions

such as self-awareness and self-reflection, executive functions like future

planning, and also creativity. For instance, it has been experimentally

demonstrated that distraction (i.c., mind-wandering) can enhance creativity (B.

Baird et al., 2012). We argue, in abstracto, that “a release from the limiting self”

is an important aspect in the context of creativity enhancement (to put it

metaphorically, the unleashing of creativity from the grip of the ego). The general

idea is that signal transduction in neuroanatomical areas associated with self-

referential cognition is reduced. For instance, it has been demonstrated that

meditation is associated with decreased activity in the default mode network, i.c.,

decreased activity in medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices (Brewer

et al., 2011). We expect similar (but more pronounced) effects with 5-MeO-DMT,

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

specifically given the phenomenological similarities between 5-MeO-DMT and

meditative (nondual) states of consciousness. Based on previous conceptually

related work which investigated the neural correlates of nondual states in

meditators it seems indicated to examine if the neuronal activity changes induced

by 5-MeO-DMT are congruent with ROIs related to nondual states of

consciousness achieved via mediation, e.g., the involvement of the DMN and

specifically the central precuneus (cf. Josipovic, 2014).

This line of research is

particularly warranted given the plethora of studies which correlate meditation with

creativity (Baas, Nevicka, & Ten Velden, 2014; Capurso, Fabbro, & Crescentini, 2014;

Colzato, Ozturk, & Hommel, 2012; Dawson, 2004; Ding, Tang, Tang, & Posner, 2014;

Domino, 1976; Horan, 2009; B. C. N. Müller, Gerasimova, & Ritter, 2016; Ostafin &

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Kassman, 2012; Peet, 1979). Our primary argument can be stated in form of a

logically valid Aristotelian categorical syllogism.

Syllogism #1

Major premise:

Minor premise:

Deductive conclusion:

Ego-dissolution enhances creativity.

5-MeO-DMT induces ego-dissolution.

 Ergo, 5-MeO-DMT enhances creativity.

Syllogism #2

Major premise:

Minor premise:

Deductive conclusion:

Increases in FCD are predictive of creativity.

5-MeO-DMT increases global functional connectivity density.

 Ergo, 5-MeO-DMT enhances creativity.

A categorical syllogism (Greek: συλλογισμός, syllogismos, conclusion or inference) consists of three

parts: the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion, for example:

Major premise: All men are mortal.

Minor premise: Socrates in a man.

Conclusion: Ergo, Socrates is mortal.

Or in Aristotle’s terms: “Whenever three terms are so related to one another that the last is contained

in the middle as in a whole, and the middle is either contained in, or excluded from, the first as in or

from a whole, the extremes must be related by a perfect syllogism. I call that term middle which is

itself contained in another and contains another in itself: in position also this comes in the middle. By

extremes I mean both that term which is itself contained in another and that in which another is

contained. If A is predicated of all B, and B of all C, A must be predicated of all C: we have already

explained what we mean by 'predicated of all'. Similarly also, if A is predicated of no B, and B of all

C, it is necessary that no C will be A.” (Aristotle, Organon Analytica Prioria, Book 1, §4). Based on an

extensive psychological analysis of the foundational question “Where does mathematics come from”

(Lakoff & Núñez, 2000) it has been argued that syllogistic reasoning is based on the logic of

containment, i.e., it makes use of mental manipulations of container schemata which form the basis

of inferential logic. From an embodied cognition/conceptual metaphor perspective, humans mentally

represent (Boolean/set-theoretical) inferential laws in a quasi-Venn diagrammatic manner (Venn,

1880) by utilizing specific spatio-relational image schemata (cognitive container schemata).

Container schemata serve as mental representations of classical logical laws (e.g., principium tertii

exclusi, modus ponens, modus tollens, etc.). Recent neuroimaging data support this “line of thought”.

For instance, an event-related fMRI study (Goel & Dolan, 2001) reported the involvement of the

parietal visuo-spatial system in abstract three-term syllogistic reasoning (occipital-parietal-frontal

network). Investigations of the neuroanatomical correlates of syllogistic reasoning thus corroborate

the notion that syllogistic reasoning recruits neuronal circuitry associated with the computation of

spatial relations (see also Goel, Gold, Kapur, & Houle, 1998) as already implicitly

psycholinguistically implied by Aristotle’s formulation.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Syllogism #3

Major premise:

Minor premise:

Deductive conclusion:

Downregulation of the DMN enhances creativity.

5-MeO-DMT downregulates the DMN.

 Ergo, 5-MeO-DMT enhances creativity.

According to syllogistic logic each of the three distinct terms represents a category,

i.c.:

[Ego-dissolution] — [5-MeO-DMT] — [Creativity].

For example, in Syllogism #1 the category [Creativity] is the major term and [5-MeO-

DMT] constitutes the minor term. Crucially, the premises have a single term in

common (the middle term)

which appears as the subject or predicate of the

categorical proposition, in casu, [Ego-dissolution]. According to the principles of

propositional logic, the conclusion follows deductively

iff the major and minor

premise are accepted as veridical. Based on these syllogistic arguments we formulate

the ensuing falsifiable a priori hypotheses:

: Downregulation of the default-mode network (DMN) predicts subsequent

increases in creativity (see below for details on the incubation/integration-phase and

the “DMN rebound effect”). In addition, we conjecture that 5-MeO-DMT decreases

depression similar to results obtained with psilocybin and we predict a correlation

between reduction in depressive symptoms and isochronous increases in creativity.

: The self-reported intensity of 5-MeO-DMT phenomenology (post eventum

introspective assessment) predicts subsequent increases in global functional

connectivity density which are in turn predictive of creativity (the differential effects

on various facets of creativity should be investigated — we suggest that

“mathematical creativity” is a specifically interesting aspect given the highly

The absence of the middle term in both premises leads to a syllogistic fallacy, i.e., the fallacy of the

undistributed middle (viz., non distributio medii).

From a philological vantage point the term “deduction” is etymologically derived from the Latin

deducere “to lead, to derive”. Thus, the premises lead (automatically) to the conclusion, i.e., the

conclusion is logically derived. This formalization constitutes the basis of the deductive-nomological

model (Popper–Hempel model) of scientific explanation.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

geometrical characteristics of DMT phenomenology). Further, we predict that 5-MeO-

DMT induces neuro/synaptoplastic changes which are crucial in the context of

creativity and cognitive/neuronal restructuring (cf. Dakic, 2017). In addition, we

predict based on prior research that 5-MEO-DMT induces neurogenesis via various

neurotrophic growth factors, e.g., hippocampal neurogenesis (Catlow et al., 2013).

Dendritic complexification and synaptic sprouting may have a psychological analogon.

: Self-reported ego-dissolution phenomenology predicts subsequent enhancements

in creativity, as quantified by various creativity test batteries (e.g., J. C. Kaufman,

2012) in a dose-dependent manner. This effect is mediated by the profundity of the

experience, e.g., how challenging the experience was, intensity of the “peak

experience”, personal meaningfulness of the experience, etc. (cf. Barrett, Bradstreet,

Leoutsakos, Johnson, & Griffiths, 2016; Forgeard, 2013; Griffiths et al., 2006; Majić,

Schmidt, & Gallinat, 2015).

: The intensity of 5-MeO-DMT induced ego-dissolution predicts longitudinal

increases in aesthetic perception, biophilia, and feelings of fundamental existential

interconnectedness

(viz., OTE – similar to studies which focused on the structural

analogue psilocybin (MacLean et al., 2011), but more pronounced; a direct comparison

between compounds would be of interest to infer structure-activity relationships

based on neuroimaging-data and qualitative phenomenological differences).

: The intensity of ego-dissolution predicts the longitudinally measured significance

of the life-event in a non-linear dose-dependent manner, similar to the patterns

observed in studies with the psilocybin (Griffiths, Richards, Johnson, McCann, &

Jesse, 2008).

: 5-MeO-DMT modulates activity in the limbic system (i.e., amygdala, insular

cortex) in a longitudinal manner (cf. Kraehenmann et al., 2015). Various biomarkers

The concept of interconnectedness is of utmost importance from an ecopsychology point of view (cf.

Key & Kerr, 2011). The formulated hypothesis thus has significant real-world societal significance.

The illusion of disconnection from nature (Fromm, 1962) lies at the root of many destructive human

behaviors which have far reaching detrimental consequences (individual and society, micro and

macro are not separable – therefore individual changes translate into global changes). Impetus for

the hypothesis at hand is partially derived from recent studies which indicate that classical

psychedelics increase nature-relatedness (Forstmann & Sagioglou, 2017; Lyons & Carhart-Harris,

2018)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

(GSR, plasma glucocorticoid-levels, etc.) could be quantified to test this prediction.

This hypothesis is not only interesting in relation to interplay between stress and

creativity (Byron, Khazanchi, & Nazarian, 2010) but also for the treatment of anxiety

disorders such as PTSD.

: Given that 5-MeO-DMT can have strong somatosensory and viscerosensory

effects (somasthæsia, changes in proprioception and body-image, and in some cases

out-of-body experiences) we hypothesize that various somatosensitive areas are

involved, specifically the temporo-parietal junction (potentially also the anterior

insular cortex (Yu et al., 2018)). This hypothesis is particularly intriguing from an

embodied cognition perspective on creativity and also in relation to Damasio’s somatic

marker hypothesis.

: The peak-experience of ego-death (sometimes colloquially referred as “break-

through” or in the extensive Indian literature Nirvikalpa Samādhi

) is marked by a

rapid phase-shift in global neuronal activity (e.g., quantifiable via simultaneous

EEG/fMRI). We predict a marked increase in creativity in comparison with states of

consciousness which still include rudimentary traces of the self-concept. We term this

mnemonically the “less ego => more creativity hypothesis”. We conjecture that this

transformative nondual peak-experience is accompanied by marked epigenetic

changes (cf. Dias & Ressler, 2014). Further, we predict that 5-MeO-DMT effects

genetic health on multiple levels (e.g., telomeres and telomerase activity) and that

overall genetic health is associated with creativity. This hypothesis is based on

studies which demonstrated positive correlations between mediation, mental health,

and genetics (Alda et al., 2016; Epel, Daubenmier, Moskowitz, Folkman, & Blackburn,

2009).

The English language lacks terminology to describe many non-ordinary states of consciousness (cf.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativism). Sanskrit, on the other hand, is linguistically very

rich in this respect. The word Nirvikalpa is a composite lexeme composed of the negatory/contra-

existential prefix ni (not, without) and the term vikalpa (thought, conception) and it can be

translated as “without conception, free from conceptual thought”. In the ancient but timeless Yoga

Sūtras of Patañjali it refers to the highest form of samadhi, i.e., mediation without thought and

object, a nondual state of absorption without self-consciousness in which there is no distinction

between knower and known (epistemology and ontology, the seer and the seen; cf. Dṛg-Dṛśya-

Viveka).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

: We predict that 5-MeO-DMT effects social cognition in numerous ways. The

“realization of unity” fosters prosocial attitudes, empathy, altruism/reciprocity. This

hypothesis can be tested using standard procedures from social psychology and we

predict interactions of 5-MeO-DMT with the oxytocin/vasopressin neuropeptide

systems. The link between empathy and creativity has been noted in prior research

(Carlozzi, Bull, Eells, & Hurlburt, 1995). Further, we suggest that terror-

management-theory is an interesting explanatory framework with respect to ego-

death and creativity (cf. Arndt & Vess, 2008; Routledge & Arndt, 2009).

: Finally, we predict that 5-MeO-DMT synergizes with other therapeutic

modalities in a non-linear fashion, i.e., the effectiveness of other therapies can be

enhanced by 5-MeO-DMT because it creates a state of psychological receptiveness in

which defence mechanisms are curtailed. We specifically predict that 5-MeO-DMT

has strong longitudinal synergistic effects when combined with mediation

(particularly types of mediation that foster nondual philosophical contemplations).

This hypothesis is partly motivated by recent neuroimaging work which reported

quantitative synergistic effects between psilocybin and mindfulness training

(Smigielski et al., 2019). The combinatorial effects of mediation and 5-MeO-DMT on

creativity are predicted to be significantly “larger than the sum of its parts” (i.e.,

larger than would be predicted based on a linear additive model).

Ex hypothesi, we argue that the conjectured effects are objectively quantifiable and

reliably replicable in rigorously controlled experimental settings. The paucity of

research on 5-MeO-DMT is surprising, specifically given that it is an endogenous

component of neurobiology which implies an evolutionary function (neurochemical

vestigiality is an unlikely explanation). Up to date, we are unaware of any systematic

scientific research which focuses specifically on the effects of 5-MeO-DMT on ego-

dissolution and creativity. Consequently, we suggest that future studies should be

designed in order to elucidate this rich and potentially very fruitful research area.

The present discussion is just a start in order to motivate future studies along these

lines. Among the various psychoactive tryptamines (e.g. psilocybin/psilocin,

DMT/NMT/α,N-DMT, N

-methylserotonin, convolutindole A, 5-Bromo-DMT, etc.) 5-

MeO-DMT is specifically suitable for controlled scientific experimentation due to the

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

short duration of its acute effects. It can be utilised as an inhalant (e.g., vaporization)

and its onset it extremely fast (a single inhalation is sufficient for its full effects which

manifest instantaneously, often before the exhalation of the vapor). Alternative

routes of administration

include IV, intracerebroventricular, intramuscular,

intranasal, intrarectal, intravaginal, sublingual, or oral administration in

combination with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) to prevent enzymatic

deamination in the GI tract (Halberstadt, 2016). However, with the latter synergistic

method may change pharmacodynamics (and psychoactivity) in hitherto unknows

ways and negative side effects such as increased “body-load” have been mentioned in

anecdotal reports. Data indicates that 5-MeO-DMT may, under some circumstances,

be toxic

if administered orally in combination with a MAOI. Specifically, there may

be genetic/phenotypic interindividual differences in polymorphic cytochrome P450

2D6 (see H. W. Shen, Wu, Jiang, & Yu, 2010) which is encoded by the CYP2D6 gene.

Future studies should address interindividual differences in CYP2D6 and their

systematic relation to pharmacokinetics and phenomenology. Given the existence of

considerable interindividual variations in the efficiency and amount of CYP2D6

enzyme produced, it is plausible to hypothesize that there are subgroups who

metabolize 5-MeO-DMT rapidly while other are “moderate or slow metabolizers”.

Furthermore, interethnic differences in genetic polymorphism of CYP2D6 have been

indicated (Teh & Bertilsson, 2012) and it would be of interest how these relate to

psychological variables. Pharmacogenomic investigations are thus warranted and we

specifically suggest that genetic differences should be correlated with neuronal and

phenomenological variables. For instance, slow 5-MeO-DMT metabolism should have

significant effects on fMRI/EEG signatures and the duration of the experimental

time-course. This in turn should correlate significantly with qualitative

phenomenology and intensity of the experience, and hence, with the overall

psychological impact and consequently changes in creativity (i.e., genetics variability

We are nescient about intraocular administration of purified 5-MeO-DMT. However, given its

relation to the pineal (which contains photoreceptors) this is a topic of empirical interest (the pineal

is has been referred to as the parietal “reptilian third eye” (Eakin & Westfall, 1959).

The toad venom itself contains numerous bufotoxins which interact with the functioning of the

cardiovascular system, e.g., the bufadienolide derivative bufagin – C

(Jensen, 1932).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

=> pharmacokinetics => neural correlates => subjective phenomenology =>

psychological impact => creativity).

We suggest that the effects of 5-MeO-DMT on creativity (and cognition in general)

should be investigated in a longitudinal design. Controlled experimentation should

be interdisciplinary and multi-modal (i.e., brain imaging

, self-reports, introspective

measures, etc.) in order to gain a complete picture of the effects of the compound (i.e.,

methodological triangulation/complementary measurement methods). For instance,

brain-wide network dynamics which undergird creativity are currently a cutting-edge

neuroscience topic of great interest (Beaty, Benedek, Silvia, & Schacter, 2016; Beaty

et al., 2018) and functional connectivity density mapping (FCDM) is widely utilised

(Tomasi & Volkow, 2010). The general idea is that creative thought involves dynamic

interactions between large-scale brain systems, specifically between cortical hubs

within the default mode network, the salience network, and the prefrontal executive

systems. Note that this is a somewhat “fuzzy” neuroanatomical analysis as each of

the networks includes a vast number of anatomical structures. Our hypothesis

contributes a more precise predictions and we argue that specifically the

downregulation of the default-mode network (which, according to theory, is

accompanied by the phenomenology of ego-dissolution) is an important component for

the enhancement of creativity. Further, we predict a priori that the downregulation

of DMN activity creates a rebound-effect (based on the Aristotelian principle of

homeostatic self-regulation, which is incorporated into numerous contemporary

We hypothesize that 5-MeO-DMT increases functional connectivity (a reorganization of the rich-

club architecture) and that this modulation of neuronal connectivity is associated with enhancement

of creativity. In brevi, as neuronal activity patterns change, and neuronal circuitry is reorganized

new connections between concepts and ideas evolve. We argue that John Locke’s classical quasi-

Newtonian theory “On the Association of Ideas” is relevant in this regard. Connectome-based

predictive (CPR) modeling could be employed to evaluate this hypothesis quantitively. CPR is a

relatively new statistical method which uses (linear) models to predict cognition (or behavior) based

on whole-brain dynamics (i.c., functional connectivity patterns are used as predictors for specific

outcomes) (X. Shen et al., 2017). Relating to the proposed hypothesis the predictor would be

functional connectivity (e.g., rich-club coefficient Φ) and the outcome criterion creativity (e.g.,

associative thinking). Whole-brain global functional connectivity maps could be utilized for the

purpose of visualization and local density variations could be contrasted post hoc (e.g., intrinsic

connectivity contrasts).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

complex systems/cybernetics theories).

Hence, pertaining to brain dynamics and

FCD the time-course should be taken into account in order “serialize” creative idea

formation. The “incubation and integration phase” (after the acute/proximal

neuropharmacological effects subside) is of particular interest with regard to

neuroplasticity and creativity (i.e., statistical time series analysis should be employed

to map various parameters diachronically). Given the profundity of the experience

occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT the integration-phase can span several weeks and even

months (some would even verify that it lasts a human lifetime).

Preliminary (quasi-experimental) research suggests that structurally related

tryptamines can foster pro-environmental “nature-relatedness” and (anti-neoliberal)

egalitarian attitudes (Forstmann & Sagioglou, 2017; Lyons & Carhart-Harris, 2018;

Nour, Evans, & Carhart-Harris, 2017). Controlled experimental research along these

lines is of great importance in the current survival-threatening economic/socio-

political climate (see also Sugarman, 2015).

Hypothesis 8 (H

) entails a prediction pertaining to potential epigenetic changes

induced by 5-MeO-DMT. This ideas is derived from recent genetic studies which

reintroduced Lamarckian elements into quantitative biology and thereby challenge

the “central dogma of molecular biology”

(Crick, 1970) which was for a long time

unquestionably axiomatic to genetic research. For instance, it has been shown that

acquired olfactory conditioning can be epigenetically inherited by subsequent

generations (at least up to F2) (Dias & Ressler, 2014). The odorant receptor (Olfr151)

was used to condition F0 mice and subsequent generations (which were utterly naïve

to the olfactory conditioning paradigm) revealed CpG hypomethylation in the Olfr151

Aristotle stated: “But as all influences require to be counterbalanced, so that they may be reduced to

moderation and brought to the mean [...] nature has contrived the brain as a counterpoise to the

region of the heart with its contained heat, and has given it to animals to moderate the latter,

combining in it the properties of earth and water.”

(Quotation adapted from “The Complete Works of Aristotle”, Revised Oxford Translation, ed., J.

Barnes, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984)

The obvious question is: Should science ever be dogmatic? According to current research,

“intellectual humility” and “dogmatism” are antithetical polar constructs (e.g., Leary et al., 2017),

with the former being conjugate with intellectual traits such as openness, curiosity, tolerance, and

the ability to handle ambiguity.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

gene. We argue that if simple olfactory conditioning can cause quantifiable quasi-

Lamarckian epigenetic effects than a profound 5-MeO-DMT experience should be

equally quantifiable at the genetic level (cf. Heard & Martienssen, 2014; Trerotola,

Relli, Simeone, & Alberti, 2015). We suggest that genes associated with the 5-HT

(serotonin) system (e.g., SLC6A4 gene associated with sodium-dependent serotonin

transporter) are a likely genetic locus for a priori (planned) comparisons (specifically

in relation to depression and anxiety; cf. hypothesis H

& H

). For instance, it has

been reported that individuals with specific serotonin transporter (5-HTT) promoter

polymorphism (associated with reduced 5-HTT expression) exhibit greater amygdala

activation (fear and anxiety-related behaviours) as assessed by BOLD functional

magnetic resonance imaging (Hariri, 2002; see also Heinz et al., 2005). Interestingly,

it has been experimentally demonstrated that psilocybin decreases amygdala

reactivity and that this limbic downregulation correlates with enhanced positive

mood (Kraehenmann et al., 2015). Ergo, we predict similar effects for 5-MeO-DMT.

N.B.: We close this section with a cautionary note. Despite the centrality and

prominence of neuroscientific research in contemporary popular discourse (cf.

representativeness heuristic) our current knowledge about the brain is very limited

(neuroscience is still in its infantile developmental phase) and therefore any

intervention (be it electrical, chemical, or otherwise) into this highly complex system

should be considered very carefully and thoroughly. Deliberate ethical considerations

are of utmost importance (intellectual humility is a genuine scientific virtue in this

respect (see Gregg, Mahadevan, & Sedikides, 2017)). The rather “dark” history of

neuroscience (unfortunately) demonstrates an absolute lack of caution and ethical

conscience (e.g., frontal lobotomy/leucotomy, electroconvulsive “shock therapy”,

destructive psychopharmacological interventions in children, etc. pp.). Some of these

ethically highly questionable “treatments” are still utilized today (cf. U. J. Müller et

al., 2013; Schläpfer & Kayser, 2014). For an excellent discussion of neuroethics and

the amoral history of psychiatry and neurosurgery see (Breggin, 1998, 2008). For a

critique of psychopharmacology with reference to human values and various “rational

principles of psychopharmacology” see (Breggin, 2003, 2016) .

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

We submit that endogenous compounds such as 5-MeO-DMT (with a long

evolutionary history of human usage) are a casus specialis. Note that 5-MeO-DMT

has been associated with neurorestorative adaptations (Dakic, 2017) whereas widely

prescribed psychopharmaceuticals such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

(SSRIs, e.g., fluoxetine/Prozac

) and norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitors

(NDRIs, e.g., methylphenidate/Ritalin

) are known to cause chronic brain

impairment (CBI) and various psychological disorders (Breggin, 2008, 2011; Breggin

& Breggin, 1996). Consequently, 5-MeO-DMT should not be grouped together with

novel/synthetic psychopharmacological substances which are oftentimes completely

alien to human neurobiology (an evolutionary/pharmacokinetic argument could be

formulated). However, besides “side-effects” such as neurotoxicity there are other

significant complications pertaining to powerful psychedelic agents which can

produce dramatic changes in consciousness. For instance, how can anyone give

“informed consensus” to an experience which is ineffable (cf. the ineffability of quale).

Moreover, 5-MeO-DMT can induce the phenomenon of timelessness, or to use William

Blakes poetic expression: “Eternity in an hour”.

Superficial descriptions such as

“the experiment lasts one hour” thus become meaningless because the compound

interact with consciousness per se (cf. Kant on space and time as a priori mental

constructs).

Thus, it should be explicitly emphasized that the human brain and

consciousness are still largely terra incognita (we do not even understand their

relation; cf. “the explanatory gap”) and consequently a high degree of caution,

foresight, and genuine ethical consideration are advisable with respect to any

intervention which might interfere with sensitive and fine-tuned biological processes.

From the poem “Auguries of Innocence” from William Blake's notebooks named “The Pickering

Manuscript” (1803).

“Kritik der reinen Vernunft” (transl.: Critique of Pure Reason) published in 1781.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Brains in chains: Neuropolitics, neurodiversity, and cognitive

liberty

In January 2016, the “Psychoactive Substances Act” (PSA) reached Royal Assent in

the United Kingdom.

The PSA generically prohibits all mind-altering substances

besides the most harmful and addictive ones which are of commercial significance

(e.g., alcohol and tobacco were explicitly exempted; but see Nutt, King, & Phillips,

2010). This novel legal framework classifies relatively harmless substances like

psilocybin on par with the most harmful and detrimental substances such as heroin

and cocaine. The UK thus became the first country in human history which

generically banned all psychoactive substances, viz., a juridical omnibus prohibition

of all mind-altering chemicals was ratified, irrespective of their well-documented

historicity and their comparative safety profile (King, 2013), for example, as

objectively quantified by the conventional LD

and TD

toxicity indices. For instance,

psilocybin is non-addictive (in fact it has been effectively utilised for addiction

treatment (Bogenschutz & Forcehimes, 2017)) and it exhibits remarkably low toxicity.

The in vivo LD

in humans remains unknown due to the paucity of any intentional

or accidental poisoning death data.

The therapeutic window (also known as

“pharmaceutical window”) for psilocybin is comparatively very safe (Gable, 1993) and

the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is very high (Zhuk et al., 2015). Further, the

therapeutic index (TI) is very high (Rucker, 2015). The TI quantifies the toxic dose as

a ratio of the effective dose:  =









. From a toxicological point of view a higher TI

is thus preferable to a lower one.

Rank-ordered therapeutic indices for various psychoactive substances:

1. Heroin ≈ 6

2. Alcohol ≈ 10

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/2/contents/enacted

Alcohol, which is legal and indeed systematically promoted by the alcohol industry (even in

academia), has a very unsafe LD

profile and is proven to be neurotoxic (R. Da Lee et al., 2005;

Jacobus & Tapert, 2013). Recent longitudinal research has shown that even moderate alcohol

consumption has detrimental effects on various neuroanatomical structures (e.g., hippocampal

atrophy). Psilocybin, on the other hand, has been shown to induce neurogenesis in the hippocampus

in animal studies (Catlow et al., 2013).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

3. Cocaine ≈ 15

4. Psilocybin ≈ 1000

Based on this hierarchical collocation it has been argued that “psychedelic drugs

should be legally reclassified so that researchers can investigate their therapeutic

potential” (this is indeed the title of the article by Rucker, 2015). A common metric in

comparative risk assessment is the margin of exposure

(MOE), defined as the ratio

between the toxicological threshold (defined as the benchmark dose) and the

estimated average human intake. Both, MTD and MOE indicate a very benign safety

profile for psilocybin, especially compared to widely used neurotoxic agents like

alcohol which, per contra, has a very low MOE (Lachenmeier & Rehm, 2015) and has

been associated with numerous detrimental neurocognitive (Weitemier & Ryabinin,

2003), genetic, and epigenetic effects (Y. Chen, Ozturk, & Zhou, 2013). Despite these

scientific facts, psilocybin is classified as a “Class A substance” in the UK. The PSA

2016 can be regarded as a lex specialis which introduces serious burdens (viz., judicial

onus) on researchers interested in neurobiology and consciousness. Ergo, scientific

research on psychedelics is currently legally highly restricted due to the irrational

Class A status of psychedelic substances (despite numerous “privileged” exceptions).

The classification of psilocybin is de jure based on the fallacious presupposition that

psilocybin has “no medicinal value” — a conjecture which is de facto clearly not

veridical as psilocybin has numerous medical applications (but see Bogenschutz &

Johnson, 2016). Therefore, the legal classification is, a fortiori, inadequate. The case

of 5-MeO-DMT is specifically paradoxical given that it is a natural endogenous

component of the neurochemical composition of the human brain. Furthermore, the

PSA has obvious implications for the perception of psychedelics in the public sphere.

Contrary to widespread public doxa (Bourdieu, 1977), epidemiological data indicate

that psychedelics are not linked to psychopathology or suicidal behaviour (Johansen

& Krebs, 2015; Krebs & Johansen, 2013; cf. K. Müller, Püschel, & Iwersen-Bergmann,

2013) as purported by numerous coordinated transnational large-scale mass-media

campaigns (starting in the 1960s) which utilized propagandistic/PR methods à la

Bernays (Bernays, 1928; L’Etang, 1999) in order justify the governmental “War on

URL: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/margin-exposure

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Drugs” (initiated by the Nixon administration) which was clearly politically

motivated, for instance, in order to target Vietnam War opponents and racial

minorities, and to serve the “prison-industrial complex” (Douglas & Pond, 2012; L. D.

Moore & Elkavich, 2008). Given the extensive initial media-coverage of the campaign,

the public mind is till this day still under the influence of this intentional

misinformation (unconscious/implicit associations play an important rôle in social

attitudes). It would require enormous orchestrated long-term efforts to

counterbalance these negative stereotypical attitudes (pro bono publico).

Well informed legal scholars interpret the PSA as an explicit violation of the

fundamental right to mental self-determination (i.e., cognitive liberty; Walsh, 2016)

– particularly with respect to Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights

1988 (§1-2) which should protect the right to freedom of thought.

It is obvious that

cognitive liberty is a prerequisite for creativity. The PSA reduces neurodiversity and

it juridically justifies the homogenisation

of cognitive/neuronal processes. It

selectively restricts cultural and memetic diversity and, consequently, cultural and

cognitive evolution (per analogiam with the crucial importance of genetic diversity

for biological evolution). The loss of memetic and cultural diversity (i.e., variability in

Weltanschauungen) is a serious problem. From an anthropological vantage point,

memetic homogenisation (i.e., the rapidly accelerating trend towards cultural and

psychological monomorphisms due to Western hegemony) is a global and rapidly

accelerating trend (this “Eurocentric phasing” is also reflected in a global reduction

of linguistic diversity, inter alia). Cultural and memetic diversity are as important to

the “human superorganism” as genetic diversity is for adaptivity of immune-systems

Freedom of thought is crucial for democracy as it forms the very basis (s.c., a condicio sine qua

non) for the right to freedom of speech/expression. As Erich Fromm articulated in his book entitled

“The fear of freedom”: “The right to express our thought, however, means something only if we are

able to have our own thoughts; freedom from external authority is a lasting gain only if the inner

psychological conditions are such that we are able to establish our own individuality” (Fromm, 1942,

pp.207-208). It can be juridically argued that freedom of thought (mental self-determination) is a

cardinal principle in international law (jus cogens).

In an age in which public opinions are systematically manipulated (Bernays, 1928; L’Etang, 1999)

and “consent is manufactured” (Chomsky, 1992; P. Fleming & Oswick, 2014) cognitive diversity is

regarded as a disruptive factor which might interfere with the smooth workings of the “mega-

machine” (cf. Fromm, 1962; Mumford, 1967).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

(a scale-independent quasi-Darwinian argument which emphasises the general

importance of diversity for evolution at the micro and the macro level of various

complex systems). In sensu lato, the loss of cultural and memetic diversity reduces

the psychological and hence behavioural capacity of the human species to react to

novel (unpredictable) challenges. In a similar manner immunodiversity (e.g.,

antibody diversity) is crucial in order to react to novel immunological challenges, e.g.,

de novo mutations in the genome of viral and bacterial pathogens, etc. A reduction of

diversity ipso facto implies a reduction in degrees of freedom (e.g., possibilities to

respond to a given stressor) and hence robustness and mobility, due to a reduction in

combinatorial possibilities. “Conformational flexibility” (Rizzo, Tinello, Pearlstein, &

Taniuchi, 1999) can thus be conceptually compared to “cognitive flexibility” (Scott,

2006), and perhaps similar dynamical/topological models can be applied. In short,

cultural and memetic diversity are as important to human societal systems as genetic

diversity is to biological systems.

Summa summarum, the PSA has far-reaching ramifications. It is de facto not

evidence-based and presents a serious legal impediment to scientific research,

creativity, memetic and cultural diversity, cognitive innovation, and cognitive liberty

(see also Boire, 2000).

Potential for military abuse: Neuroethics and the “ticking bomb

scenario”

Given the fact that 5-MeO-DMT is unparallel in its ability to virtually

instantaneously dissolve psychological ego structures (viz., ego dissolution par

excellence) it can in principle be utilized as a “neuropsychological weapon”, for

instance, in the context of military operations. Like every powerful scientific tool, it

is a two-sided sword (a neurochemical Janus) that can be used to elevate and unfold

human potential, creativity, and consciousness or, vice versa, to manipulate, control,

and suppress it. In the past, methods that are capable of dissolving ego structures

have been of great interest to the military in relation to “enhanced interrogation” —

a euphemism for torture (see also O’Mara, 2009). For example, the collaboration of

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Donald Hebb

with the CIA and various military agencies which focused on sensory

deprivation/overload and other techniques to “dismantle the self” (Brown, 2007;

McCoy, 2006, 2007). Many of the resulting procedures can be found in the only

recently declassified U.S. Army and CIA interrogation manuals (known as the

KUBARK “torture manuals”).

For various reasons the military has vested interests

in research on neurochemistry and creativity and the “weaponization of neuroscience”

is a general problem with extensive ethical ramifications which should be much more

prominently discussed under the generic header of “neuroethics” (e.g., Farah, 2005).

In sensu lato, creativity is a prerequisite for scientific innovation. On their official

website DARPA explicitly articulates that their “success depends on the vibrant

ecosystem of innovation within which the agency operates”.

It is important to keep

in mind that DARPAs enunciated mission is “to create revolutions in military science

and to maintain technological dominance over the rest of the world […] with an

annual budget of roughly $3 billion” and that “DARPA as an agency does not conduct

scientific research. Its [on average 120] program managers and directors hire defense

contractors, academics, and other government organizations to do the work” (Jacobsen,

2015; content in bracket added). A related agency which was founded in 2006 is the

IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity) which describes its

mission as follows: “To envision and lead high-risk, high-payoff research that delivers

innovative technology for future overwhelming intelligence advantage.”

IARPA

provides significant funding for academia and industry research across a broad array

of areas including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, chemistry, biology,

mathematics, physics, computer science, linguistics, and political science, inter alia.

IARPAs “moon-shot” programs are intended to enable researchers to engage in “ideas

that are potentially disruptive to the status quo”. Other research areas are

“forecasting tournaments” (Tetlock, Mellers, Rohrbaugh, & Chen, 2014) and “hybrid

In a symposium in 1958 Hebb stated that: “The work that we have done at McGill University

began, actually, with the problem of brainwashing. We were not permitted to say so in the first

publishing …”

URL: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//nsa/archive/news/dodmans.htm

URL: https://www.darpa.mil

Its neuroscience related agenda can be found under the following URL:

https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/neuroscience-programs-at-iarpa

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

forecasting competitions” which aims to “improve accuracy in predicting worldwide

geopolitical issues, including foreign political elections, interstate conflict, disease

outbreaks, and economic indicators by leveraging the relative strengths of humans and

machines”

(see also Weinberger, 2011). Moreover, artificial intelligence is a highly

prioritised domain which is actively pursuit by DARPA & IARPA. The book entitled

“Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21

Century” by Moreno (2012)

provides a broader picture on the tight interconnections between science, academia,

and the military-industrial complex, specifically with respect to “mind control”.

Moreno submits the following “hypothetical” scenario which highlights the

importance of creativity research from a military perspective.

Human creatures have the unique capacity for creativity which even the most

complex automata hitherto lack. Creativity is thus a topic of great interest with

regard to brain-computer interfaces (Vaadia, 2009) and a detailed understanding of

the cognitive, neurochemical, and neuromechanical basis of creativity is of

URL: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2017

“Here's a science fiction scenario: an army of robots capable of movement nearly

as precise as that of a human soldier, each controlled by an individual hundreds

or even thousands of miles away. These automata could undertake actions that

would be foolhardy for human beings but worth the tactical risk for machines;

because they are controlled by people, they would have the benefit of creativity

that might limit even the most advanced android. But the old-fashioned remote

control scenario would have the operator pushing buttons or moving levers while

seeing on a monitor what the robot is seeing, a method that would be far too

clumsy for the instantaneous reactions often required in combat. What is wanted

is a technology that would allow the robot to respond as soon as the distant

operator does. Such a technology would, in effect, have to be able to read the

intentions of the operator, his or her thoughts themselves, not merely respond to

the operator's muscle movements through a mechanical apparatus.” (Moreno,

2012, p.39).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

fundamental interest to AI research which is currently utterly unable to emulate

genuine creativity in silico (cf. Boden, 2014), a problem which, we argue, is intimately

related to the “hard problem of consciousness” (Chalmers, 1995), i.e., the unsolved

question of how quantitative processes such as electrochemical neuronal signal

transduction relate to consciousness (and hence creativity). This “explanatory gap”

(Block & Stalnaker, 1999), which is based on a dualistic Cartesian mind-matter

conceptualisation, is a serious obstacle for reductive materialism (Levine, 1983) and

consequently military research on robotics and AI. This research domain is currently

heavily funded by various sectors of industry. Particularly autonomous weapon

systems are a very active area of research (but see Bohannon, 2015). “Autonomous

creative systems” (Saunders, 2012), “creative cognitive computation” (d’Inverno &

Luck, 2012) and “creative evolutionary systems” (Bentley & Corne, 2002) are at the

cutting-edge of contemporary transdisciplinary AI research.

Closely related to computational applications, creativity is also a crucial asset with

respect to game theory (e.g., enhancing one’s own creativity while reducing the

opponent’s capacity for creativity is an effective stratagem). For example, artificial

swarm intelligence systems utilise game-theoretical calculi which require

“computational creativity” for the self-organisation of networked multi-agent systems

(al-Rifaie, Bishop, & Caines, 2012) and it could be argued that creativity determines

the “degrees of freedom” of a given system. In sum, autonomous systems are most

effective when they have the capacity to execute creative manoeuvres (predictability

and cognitive/computational inflexibility are an operational and strategic

disadvantage). With history in sight, the question how these evolving “creative”

autonomous systems are utilised in the future is a topic of great humanistic concern,

specifically given the concentration of financial and hence political power alluded to

in the introduction of this paper (see also Lin, Bekey, & Abney, 2008). It needs to be

accentuated that surveillance of the general civil populace is an ongoing issue

(Bauman et al., 2014) and that we are currently observing a restriction of freedom of

speech (e.g., algorithmic censorship) in many domains (Arquilla, 2011; Mausfeld,

2017, 2019). We argue that the developments of creative military AI have to be

evaluated against this broader historical and societal background as these systems,

once installed and implemented, could be utilized for plutocratic/totalitarian

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

cybernetic social control (and not just the ostensible “war” on alleged terrorists which

might indeed be a deceptive pretext — a fairly creative and demonstrably effective

“foot-in-the-door” technique, as social psychologists call it (Freedman & Fraser,

2017)).

With respect to “deceptive pretexts” another obviously related area of vested

military interest is research on lying and the detection of lies. Numerous studies have

demonstrated that creativity is related to the ability to deceive and to conceal

information (Gino & Ariely, 2012; Gino & Wiltermuth, 2014; H. Kapoor & Khan,

2017) which is pivotal in relation to military operations as the military routinely

makes use of deceptive manoeuvres, as for example evidenced by operation

NORTHWOODS.

That is, the ability to lie is linked to various facets of creativity

such as divergent thinking (Walczyk, Runco, Tripp, & Smith, 2008). Likewise the

ability to detect deception (e.g., deception detection accuracy) appears to be correlated

with creativity measures (cf. Walczyk & Griffith-Ross, 2008). Hence, creativity is

pivotal with regard to military interrogation tactics (which frequently include

torture).

A historical vantage point is crucial to frame the discussion appropriately.

Psychopharmaceutical interventions were a decisive component of the German

Operation NORTHWOODS is a paradigmatic historical example which illustrates the dark side of

creativity (Cropley, Cropley, Kaufman, & Runco, 2010). The pseudonym refers to a plan which was

formulated in 1962 (by the US Department of Defense and the CIA) to commit acts of terrorism

against American civilians (false-flag attacks) in order to justify a war against Cuba (Bamford,

2001). The proposal included highly creative and deceptive strategies such as hijacking planes and

orchestrated violent terrorism in U.S. cities such as Miami and Washington (inter alia). Moreover,

the malignant (psychopathic) proposal included the blowing up a U.S. ship, the attacking of a U.S.

civil airliner (alleged passengers were a group of college students off on a holiday), the spreading of

rumors in Cuba via clandestine radio, and even the manufacturing of evidence to blame the Cuban

government for the accidental death of the astronaut John Glenn. The plan was approved by the

Pentagon but rejected by president Kennedy. This geostrategic example demonstrates that the

importance of creativity in U.S. military expansionism and it shows the importance of game-

theoretical creative thinking. The world is seen as a “grand chessboard” (Brzezinski, 1997) and

creative moves and deception are essential “to win the war game”. The book entitled “PsyWar on

Cuba” provides detailed background information on the case and obvious parallels to the 9/11

“terrorist attacks” have been drawn (Elliston, 1999). The original NORTHWOODS document (which

was declassified in 2001) is accessible under the following URL:

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Blitzkrieg in WWII, for instance, the utilisation of methamphetamine (Heal, Smith,

Gosden, & Nutt, 2013) as an analeptic cognitive and physical performance booster.

During the 3

Reich, Nazi “scientists” conducted extremely inhuman medical and

psychological experiments in concentration camps (even on children). These

experiments also involved psychedelics (and other neuroactive chemicals)

for the

purpose of interrogation and psychological control, e.g., mescaline experiment in

concentration camps in Dachau and Auschwitz. Mescaline was the first psychedelic

known to Western science and it was used in the brutal “aviation tests” at Dachau in

which prisoners were crushed and frozen to death (Jay, 2019). The specified objective

was “to eliminate the will of the person examined”

with the overarching goal to

develop a “truth serum” (see also Keller, 2004).

The mescaline experiments were

Given that the brain uses “electro-chemical” signal transduction there are two pathways to

interfere with its functions: 1) the chemical route 2) the electromagnetic route. Of course, both are of

interest to the military and associated intelligence agencies. The former is discussed here to some

extend while the latter is omitted. We refer the interested reader to the highly controversial and

influential work of José Delgado on the electrical manipulation of the brain (e.g., Delgado, 1964;

Delgado & Hamlin, 1956) which has later been used for the purpose of “behavior modification” in

humans, e.g., direct electrical stimulation of the amygdala via brain implants – intracerebral radio

stimulation (cf. Delgado, J.M.R. (1969). Physical Control of the Mind: Toward a Psychocivilized

Society. Harper and Row). Related contemporary neurotechnological successor systems are, for

example, implantable brain–machine interfaces such as Neuralink

, a chronically implanted

cortical neuroprosthetic device (cf. Wang et al., 2013) which is currently widely popularized by Elon

Musk et alii (see Anjana, 2019). In theory, the cortical implant provides (hackable) read & write

access (770/777) to the brain. Musk outspokenly expressed the transhumanist long-term goal to

achieve “symbiosis with artificial intelligence”.

Further information on the utilisation of mescaline in Dachau can be found in the referenced

report:

U.S. Naval Technical Mission in Europe, Technical report no. 331-45: “German aviation medical

research at the Dachau concentration camp” (1945).

Such pharmacologically assisted techniques facilitate “coercive interrogation without causing

physical assault”. In the context of contemporary praxis it has been pointed out that “shockingly, a

great majority of countries despite the implementation of laws against the torture and being

signatories to various international treaties are using torture (physical and mental) to ferret out truth

from an unwilling person” and further that “hypno-sedatives and psychotropic drugs are presently

being used to create a ‘twilight zone’ or ‘trance state’ to break down the psychological defenses of

enemy spies” (P. Kapoor, Chugh, Kapoor, & Sinha, 2008).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

conducted by Dr. Kurt Plötner (University of Leipzig).

After the war more than 1700

high-ranking German scientists (some of whom committed the most appalling crimes

against humanity) emigrated to the USA via the top-secret operation PAPERCLIP

(so named because of the tons of “paperclipped” German documents which were

brought to the USA). Eventually, these scientists worked jointly in classified

programs with code-names such as CHATTER, BLUEBIRD,

ARTICHOKE, and

MK-ULTRA (but see Jacobsen, 2014).

100

Dr. Plötner was amongst them and joined

the BLUEBIRD task force.

101

A review of Jacobson’s book (op. cit.) which is published

on the official CIA website (see URL in footnote)

102

provides the following synopsis:

More humanistically oriented researchers worked on the psychotherapeutic effects of mescaline

using “deep relaxation and free ideation” via “drug-induced dream-like states” in order to “shorten the

course of psychoanalysis” by facilitation of profound insights (Frederking, 1955, p. 262). During the

therapy the patient is confronted with his “essential problems” while the substance is psychologically

active and further a “close connection between the subject and his dreams” is established.

To “sing” like a bluebird.

100

Several CIA subprograms systematically investigated extrasensory perception and telepathy

(Jacobsen, 2017). Note in this regard that the harmala alkaloid “harmine” (which is found in the

psychedelic phytochemical concoction Ayahuasca) was previously termed “telepathine” (A. L. Chen

& Chen, 1939). Harmine is a β-carboline which functions as a MAO-blocker to enable the oral

activity of DMT (i.e., it is present in the vine Banisteriopsis caapi).

101

The recruitment of Plötner by the CIA is reported in the book “Mescaline: A Global History of the

First Psychedelic” (Jay, 2019). A very different story is disseminated on Wikipedia (*.de and *.com)

according to which Plötner lived in Schleswig-Holstein into the early 1950s under the alias “Kurt

Schmidt”.

In recognition of his “scientific merits” Plötner became in 1954 a professor at the Albert-Ludwigs-

Universität Freiburg. The university stated in 1961 in a letter to the ministry of education (Baden-

Württemberg) that Plötner did not violate any ethical norms and that that his behaviour was

immaculate — expressis verbis: “daß Herr Dr. Plötner in keiner Weise gegen menschliche und

ärztliche Ethik verstoßen, ja sich menschlich und ärztlich trotz der gegebenen schwierigen Umstände

ohne Tadel verhalten hat.“ It is now evident that Plötner lied during the investigations. For example,

he conducted human experiments with aggressively toxic chemical chlorine trifluoride and asserted

later that the compound would be completely harmless.

See also: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bbm%3A978-0-230-50605-3%2F1.pdf

102

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-

studies/studies/vol-58-no-3/operation-paperclip-the-secret-intelligence-program-to-bring-nazi-

scientists-to-america.html

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Given that a large proportion of documents was intentionally destroyed the full

scope and the scientific results of the MK-ULTRA programmes remain unknown.

Furthermore, central figures were granted legal immunity and numerous leading

scientists simply continued their prestigious careers in psychology, psychiatry, and

neuroscience — oftentimes in highly influential positions within mainstream

academia. The public never received an adequate explanation why these illegal

programs where conducted (besides the usual exorbitantly exaggerated enemy image

“In 1949, the CIA created the Office of Scientific Intelligence. Its first director, Dr.

Willard Machle, traveled to Germany to set up a special program to interrogate

Soviet spies. The CIA believed the Russians had developed mind-control

programs and wanted to know how US spies would hold up against this

capability if caught. He also aimed to explore the feasibility of creating a

‘Manchurian candidate’ through behavioral modification. Thus, Operation

Bluebird was born. Bluebird, later called MKULTRA, was a research activity

experimenting in behavioral engineering of humans. The Nuremberg Code

prohibits experimentation with humans without their consent. During this

program, Dr. Frank Olson, a US Army biological weapons researcher, was given

the drug LSD without his knowledge, leading to his death by leaping from a

building. DCI Richard Helms ordered much of the documentation destroyed, and

the circumstances of his demise remain controversial to this day.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

of Russia).

103

It is likely that the published information only reveals the “tip of the

iceberg” and one can only speculate about how far MK-ULTRA really went. It has

been stated by Dr. Robert Lashbrook (deputy director of MK-ULTRA) that the

available documents were “boiler plate” cover files.

104

However, even the superficial

cover stories are clearly extremely alarming from a human rights perspective.

Initially, psychedelics were intended for a new type of warfare. For instance, Dr.

Wilson Greene was a proponent of “psychochemical warfare”, i.e., “hallucinogenic or

psychotomimetic drugs [...] whose effects mimic insanity or psychosis.” Greene argued

that if these substances would be used against enemy soldiers that “there can be no

doubt that their will to resist would be weakened greatly, if not entirely destroyed, by

the mass hysteria and panic which would ensue.” (Jacobsen, 2014). Later, the CIA

foresaw much more extensive applications than just psychochemical warfare on the

battlefield and it extended these initial programs into new domains (e.g., for the

purpose of interrogation and to destabilise individuals and certain “uncongenial”

groups within society — such as anti-war political activists). For instance, MK-

ULTRA subproject #40 focused on “LSD-type compounds both in laboratory and

human beings” and the application of aerosols (“nebulizing nonaqueous solvents”) to

103

It is noteworthy that the USA is by a large margin the absolute world leader in military spending

– there is serious competition (but a lot of propaganda to justify military spendings). The estimate

for 2018 was ≈ $649 billion for the USA, ≈ $61.4 for Russia, while the world total was ≈1822

(Stockholm International Peace Research Institute database, SIPRI). This expenditure is reflective

of the explicit goal of “full-spectrum dominance” (Joint Vision 2020, U.S. Department of “Defense”).

According to Wikipedia “full spectrum dominance includes the physical battlespace; air, surface and

sub-surface as well as the electromagnetic spectrum and information space. Control implies that

freedom of opposition force assets to exploit the battlespace is wholly constrained” (see also Armbrust

& Chomsky, 2005). The Nobel lecture by Harold Pinter addresses this topic.

URL:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2005/pinter/25621-harold-pinter-nobel-lecture-

2005/

Based on this ubiquitous doctrine (i.e., a ruthless domination philosophy) it follows that the

domination of the “psychedelic space” is likewise of military/hegemonic interest, specifically in

reference to psycho-cybernetic control. We submit that this topic is of utmost psychological relevance

in the current political climate which places great emphasis on indoctrination and mind control.

104

Source document: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP99-

00498R000100120112-7.pdf

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

deliver various psychochemicals of interest to “non-psychotic humans”.

105

One can

only speculate about real-world application methods of such creative ideas.

Psychedelics became a crucial component of the CIA MK-ULTRA “mind control”

agenda (which consisted of more than 140 known subprojects, involved more than 80

universities and governmental institutions, and remained completely unnoticed by

the public — even congress was allegedly entirely unaware of the multimillion-dollar

program). The covert program was outright illegal and utilized LSD-25 and other

psychoactive compounds in the most unethical ways possibly imaginable (on

unwitting “subjects”). The main purpose of the program was to manipulate and

control human beings, both on the individual level and the level of mass psychology.

MK-ULTRA weaponised science while the general populace was absolutely nescient

about the unethical experiments which were conducted which the aid of taxpayers’

money. In 1975, the “Church Committee” (formally the “United States Senate Select

Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence

Activities”) investigated the voluminous case. The committee’s final report was

published in 1976 in six books.

106

The report reveals how clandestine and utterly

unethical the governmental agencies operated. Remarkably, one of the topics of focal

interest was retrograde amnesia, i.e., how to the erase memory of past events and to

then reprogram the mind with new thought and behaviours, e.g., via hypnosis (A.

Winter, 2011). Psychedelic played a crucial part in this regard. The permanent

changing of personality structures was a related agenda. Techniques involved

countless drugs, hypnosis, sleep and sensory deprivation, electroshock experiments,

induction of traumata and dissociation, et cetera. Experiments on tens of thousands

of people were carried out in the most callous and merciless ways (in universities,

hospitals, prisons, military facilities, i.a., without any regard for consensus of the

naïve subjects). A large spectrum of human psychology and behaviour was

systematically investigated in this large-scale program (Price, 2007). It is noteworthy

105

Source document: https://archive.org/details/DOC_0000190090

106

Official reports on illegal intelligence gathering activities by U.S. federal agencies can be accessed

under the following URL: http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/churchcommittee.html

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

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that one of the main private sector funding bodies was the notorious Rockefeller

Foundation.

A disturbing case which has been associated with MK-ULTRA is the legal case

referred to as the “Unabomber” (alias Ted Kaczynski). From 1959-62 Harvard

psychologist Henry Murray subjected sophomores to psychologically damaging

experiments which entailed the administration of LSD-25 and subsequent severe

attacks on the personality structures of participants. Evidence indicates that

Murrays experimentations were covertly funded via the MK-ULTRA program (Chase,

2000). Interestingly, Murray founded Harvard’s Social Relations Department “which

was funded by covert intelligence agencies and the Rockefeller agency through which

much of his research was conducted” (Sand, 2007, p. 8). One of the projects was the

euphemistically termed “Multiform Assessments of Personality Development Among

Gifted College Men”

107

which subjected participants to a series of humiliating

interrogations. The covert purpose of this research agenda was to develop an

“interrogation-stress test”. The advertised description of the experiment was vague

and sounded rather harmless:

“Would you be willing to contribute to the solution of certain psychological problems

(parts of an on-going program of research in the development of personality), by

serving as a subject in a series of experiments or taking a number of tests (average

about 2 hours a week) through the academic year (at the current College rate per hour)?”

Participants where not informed about the severity of the ego-shattering

psychological manipulations which would be applied to them (no informed consensus)

and the experiments involved psychological methods which are ethically indefensible

(such as brutal attacks on the ego under the influence of psychedelics). It is of course

difficult to say in how far Kaczynski’s intense hate of psychology and science was

influenced by these profoundly traumatic psychedelic experiences and if there is any

causal relation between these events and his later crimes which killed numerous

people (correlation ≠ causation; i.e., the “cum hoc ergo propter hoc” logical fallacy of

107

Full datasets (largely restricted access) and additional information on the study are available

under the following URL:

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/NKTIZD

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implied causality). However, he writes the following in his manifesto “Industrial

Society and its Future” (Kaczynski, 1995):

This very brief historical discourse provides an informative background which

emphasizes the enormous potential of scientific abuse of psychedelic substances, that

is, for military dominance objectives, psychological manipulation, and for the purpose

of cybernetic social engineering. Unfortunately, humanity has clearly not learned

(§157) “Assuming that industrial society survives, it is likely that technology will

eventually acquire something approaching complete control over human

behavior. It has been established beyond any rational doubt that human thought

and behavior have a largely biological basis. As experimenters have

demonstrated, feelings such as hunger, pleasure, anger and fear can be turned

on and off by electrical stimulation of appropriate parts of the brain. Memories

can be destroyed by damaging parts of the brain or they can be brought to the

surface by electrical stimulation. Hallucinations can be induced or moods

changed by drugs. There may or may not be an immaterial human soul, but if

there is one it clearly is less powerful that the biological mechanisms of human

behavior. For if that were not the case then researchers would not be able so easily

to manipulate human feelings and behavior with drugs and electrical currents.”

(§158) “It presumably would be impractical for all people to have electrodes

inserted in their heads so that they could be controlled by the authorities. But the

fact that human thoughts and feelings are so open to biological intervention

shows that the problem of controlling human behavior is mainly a technical

problem; a problem of neurons, hormones and complex molecules; the kind of

problem that is accessible to scientific attack. Given the outstanding record of our

society in solving technical problems, it is overwhelmingly probable that great

advances will be made in the control of human behavior. Will public resistance

prevent the introduction of technological control of human behavior? It certainly

would if an attempt were made to introduce such control all at once. But since

technological control will be introduced through a long sequence of small

advances, there will be no rational and effective public resistance.”

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from history

108

and immoral torture programs (which make perfidious use of

psychology and neuroscience) are still being conducted in the 21

century, e.g., Abu

Ghraib

109

(Otterman, 2017). Only very recently APA psychologists were accused of

psychological torture in the context of military operations which led to a public refusal

of the APA to participate in future operations.

110

In 2003, the CIA and the APA

108

The following pertinent statements have been ascribed to John Edgar Hoover who was the first

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (but see Gentry, 1991): “When morals decline and

good men do nothing, evil flourishes. A society unwilling to learn from past is doomed. We must never

forget our history.” Furthermore, Hoover made the following epistemic statement which is

reminiscent of Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) and Lerner’s associated just-

world belief hypothesis (Lerner, 1997): “The individual comes face-to-face with a conspiracy so

monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind has not come to a realisation of the evil

which has been introduced into our midst. It rejects even the assumption that human creatures could

espouse a philosophy which must ultimately destroy all that is good and decent.” On a different

occasion Hoover reformulated this statement concerning “doxastic logic”: “The individual is

handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.”

109

For a morally engaging example which documents the “enjoyment” of psychopathic torture by CIA

personnel see the following pictorial URL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse#/media/File:Sabrina-

Harman.jpg

We provide this “emotionally disturbing” information not as hyperrealist “war porn” (Baudrillard &

Lotringer, 2005) but in order to raise awareness to the inhuman activities of the military – an

understanding which is crucial in order to appreciate the discussion at hand in a realistic context.

This is particularly necessary because the military-industrial-entertainment complex (e.g., countless

Hollywood movies, the “gaming” industry, etc.) generally depicts the military as an honorable and

virtuous organization which “fights” for justice, freedom, and humanitarian values. The military-

industrial-entertainment complex thus creates implicit associations (cf. Schreger & Kimble, 2017) in

the public mind (via hyperreal media in the sense of Baudrillard) and scientists are not immune to

these unconscious associative imprints which often take place at a very early neuroplastic stage in

Piagetian/Kohlbergian cognitive/ moral development. It is therefore necessary to actively counteract

these repetitive quasi-Hebbian strategies via reality-based emotional priming. However, it can be

argued that humanity has already been thoroughly desensitized towards moral transgressions (and

the suffering of others) due to constant habituation and associated adaptive homeostatic receptor-

downregulation processes, i.c., emotion-dependent amygdala habituation (for an fMRI-data based

discussion of the phenomenon see Plichta et al., 2014). Such learning processes very likely have

(quasi-Lamarckian) epigenetic effects which thus affect the molecular biology (e.g., methylation/gene

expression) of subsequent generations of human beings (Dias & Ressler, 2014) viz., besides direct

environmental effects via Pavlovian/Skinnerian conditioning and Bandura-type model

learning/social learning).

110

See letter by the former APA President Alan E. Kazdin to George Bush:

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2008/10/bush-interrogations.aspx

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

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conducted a workshop (“Science of Deception: Integration of Practice and Theory”)

which discussed the use of sensory overload and pharmacological interventions.

According to Harper, workshop attendees were asked questions such as “What are the

effects of sensory overload on the maintenance of deceptive behaviors? How might we

overload the system or overwhelm the senses and see how it affects deceptive behaviors?

What pharmacological agents are known to affect apparent truth-telling behavior?”

111

In a post festum attempt to justify the leaked information the APA subsequently

wrote a statement which later disappeared from their website

112

: “The workshop

provided an opportunity to bring together individuals with a need to understand and

use deception in the service of national defense/security with those who investigate the

phenomena and mechanisms of deception.” It has been argued that the “attempt to

hide its history is not surprising, because the kind of activities discussed in these

workshops are exactly like those that involved CIA and military mind control torture

programs going back fifty years or more, and evidently still operational today” (Kaye,

2010).

5-Meo-DMT can be extremely destructive to the human psyche when it is utilized

with the wrong intentions. It is therefore of utmost importance to develop legal

frameworks which prevent its application in military settings and especially in

“situations of crisis” and in matters of “national security”, so called “ticking time

bomb scenarios” (Brecher, 2008) in which the principles laid down by the human

rights convention (e.g., Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against

Torture) are deemed to be no longer applicable for utilitarian reasons (as implicitly

argued, for instance, by the David Horowitz – founder of the conservative think tank

“David Horowitz Freedom Center”). Here is an example of a ticking-bomb

Gedankenexperiment

113

(a hypothetical moral dilemma):

111

Source URL: https://harpers.org/blog/2010/05/apas-unpredictable-past/

112

The web never forgets and the statement has been mirrored by the Internet Archive under the

following URL:

https://web.archive.org/web/20030802090354/http:/www.apa.org/ppo/issues/deceptscenarios.html

113

Adapted from the “Association for the Prevention of Torture” (APT).

URL: https://www.apt.ch/content/files_res/tickingbombscenario.pdf

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

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Suppose that a person with knowledge of an imminent terrorist attack, that will kill

many people, is in the hands of the authorities and that he will disclose the

information needed to prevent the attack only if he is tortured. Should he be tortured?

Should the most powerful psychoactive substances known to science (in casu, 5-MeO-

DMT) be utilized to completely break down the persons sense of self for the purpose of

“enhanced” interrogation?

In the psychological literature on morality similar provocative decision-making

scenarios have been experimentally investigated in extenso, e.g., the “trolley problem”

and the “foot-bridge dilemma” (more recently in virtual reality environments in order

to increase external real-world validity and generalizability of results). There are

generally two standpoints on morality: 1) a utilitarian view and 2) a deontological

view. We maintain that torture should be denied on principle moral and ethical

grounds. That is, we argue from a deontological stance (à la Immanuel Kant) as

opposed to a utilitarian stance (à la David Hume). Specifically, we submit that there

are certain moral and ethical boundaries which should never be transgressed,

independent of the contextual circumstances (viz., moral absolutism vs. moral

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

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relativism).

114

This is a meta-ethical position based on a priori principles of moral

rationalism.

There are several rather complex “special case” objections to Kant’s categorical

imperative but, as a general abstract heuristic, the underlying moral principle is very

accurate. It also concords with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence

(Sanskrit: Ahimsā)

115

which is rooted in ancient Indian Vedanta philosophy and

asserts that violence against another conscious being is never justifiable, under no

circumstances (categorically). We regard nonviolence as a moral axiom (an aprioristic

foundational moral primitive which defies further reduction) in line with Kant’s

unconditional stance.

The application of 5-MeO-DMT in a military context can have disastrous

consequences because the compound completely breaks down psychological defence

mechanisms. A person under the influence of 5-MeO-DMT is utterly defenceless and

the “interrogator” has consequently “god-like sovereignty” (cf. Améry, 1966). Stimuli

which are normally perceived as relatively harmless can be perceived as extremely

threatening and their impact can be synergistically amplified in unpredictable ways

– thereby causing irreversible psychological traumata. (We use the word trauma in

114

There are rather complex epistemological reasons for this position which we omit in the interest of

parsimony (e.g., based on Sôritês paradoxon, deductive logic, and the quasi-Popperian problem of

demarcation, i.e., at what point does a problem become a problem of “national security”).

115

In fact, ahimsā is not merely non-violence but it is a principle of non-harming. It is a principle

with far-reaching moral implications (but see Marques, 2012) which also applies to animals and it is

consequently of pertinence for experimentation on animals in science (see also Singer, 1990).

116

Immanuel Kant, Gesammelte Schriften. Hrsg.: Bd. 1-22 Preußische Akademie der

Wissenschaften, Bd. 23 Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, ab Bd. 24 Akademie der

Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Berlin 1900ff., AA IV, 421 / GMS, BA 52.

“Handle nur nach derjenigen Maxime, durch die du zugleich wollen kannst, dass

sie ein allgemeines Gesetz werde.”

Transl.: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will

that it should become a universal law.”

~ Immanuel Kant (1785), Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals

116

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

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the etymological sense — a psychological wound.) Physical torture is always also

psychological torture, but it leaves open the theoretical possibility to distance

(dissociate)

117

psychologically from the torturer which allows in principle for a partial

coping with the traumata. On the contrary, psychological torture targets the very core

of a human being and therefore destroys the entire person and not “just” his/her

physical body. In the hands of malignant individuals 5-MeO-DMT can be an

extremely cruel and destructive neuropsychological weapon which can induce a form

of permanent damage which is unimaginable to a normal person as it intervenes into

the deepest core dynamics of consciousness.

Given the rapid breakdown of 5-MeO-DMT within the human organism

(pharmacokinetic elimination) it is in principle difficult to prove its illegal application

post festum. It follows on legal grounds that an absolute (universal) prohibition of the

use of 5-MeO-DMT for military purposes is of great importance (no “margin of

discretion”).

118

Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege (Jimenez de Asúa, 1951; Rauter,

2017). This is especially pertinent in the present historical context in which basic

human rights have been repeatedly violated behind the façade of dubious political

motives (e.g., within the justificatory/exculpatory utilitarian frame of “national

117

We suggest that “somatic disidentification” (i.e., the insight that “I am not the body”) is a crucial

therapeutic psychological mechanism with respect to the treatment of various traumata with 5-MeO-

DMT (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, but also body dysmorphic disorders such as anorexia

nervosa which are based on a strong identification with the physical aspect of human existence). In

other term, 5-MeO-DMT helps to transcendent the body/ego-identity and enables a higher “spiritual”

identification which allows for emotional detachment from traumata. This line of reasoning is based

on the premise that the transcendental experiences occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT facilitate a

remodeling/recasting of the self-concept (i.e., how the self is conceived).

118

The “Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or

Imprisonment” adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1988 prohibits “methods of interrogation

which impair the capacity of decision of judgment.” (A/RES/43/173).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

security”). We cannot allow for double standards and moral elasticity when it comes

to human consciousness itself!

119

Conclusion

We would like to close by reconnecting the topic back to the introduction of this essay.

In a recent PNAS article entitled “Trajectories of the Earth System in the

Anthropocene” it has been stated that: “Collective human action is required to steer

the Earth System [...] Such action entails [...] behavioral changes, technological

innovations, new governance arrangements, and transformed social values” (Steffen

et al., 2018, p. 8252).

We strongly agree with this general conclusion (note that the term “Earth System”

is used in the singular not in the plural) and we argue that solidarity, collectivism,

holism, morality, and altruism (as opposed to competition, individualism, atomism,

corruption, and egocentrism) are pivotal for the evolution of humanity on this planet

which Buckminster Fuller metaphorically labelled as “spaceship earth” (Anker, 2007)

in an attempt to emphasize the common fate of all “passengers”. Fuller wrote the

following in his final work entitled “Critical Path” (1981):

119

For instance, C.G. Jung wrote extensively about the “collective unconscious” and we should be

very cautious with any powerful interventions into this domain of existence, especially when we are

dealing with severely (dissociative) traumatic procedures in a military context. Neuroscience has

only very recently begun to integrate the far-reaching implications which can be derived from the

rich history of analytical psychology (for a historical discussion of various conceptualizations of

unconscious processes in connection with contemporary neuropsychological findings see Bob, 2003).

“History shows that, only when the leaders of the world’s great power structures

have become convinced that their power structures are in danger of being

destroyed, have the gargantuanly large, adequate funds been appropriated for

accomplishing the necessary epoch-opening new technologies. It took preparation

for World War III to make available the funds that have given us computers,

transistors, rockets and satellites to realistically explore the Universe.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

A similar argument could be articulated for the “inner universe”. Humankind has

travelled through outer space and we now possess detailed charts of the moon and

many other extra-terrestrial objects. However, hitherto modern science is utterly

unable to provide a comprehensive cartography of the human mind (let alone

consciousness). Ergo, the great frontiers of 21

century science are internal and

psychological, and it should be psychologies primary focus to systematically chart the

largely unexplored “antipodes of mind” – the “terra incognita” – as Aldous Huxley

eloquently formulated it (Huxley, 1954). In view of this it has been eﬀectively argued

that the discovery of psychedelic neuroactive substances is scientifically as important

to the study of the mind as the invention of the microscope to progress in chemistry

or the telescope to astronomy (Grof, 2000, p. 297). We would like to foreground that

psychology is not reducible to neuroscience — it is a different level of analysis (the

persistent “post hoc ergo propter hoc” fallacy is widespread; correlation ≠ causation).

Given the “extraordinary danger of the current moment”

120

it is undeniable that we

as human beings need to radically change our egoistic behaviour as a species,

otherwise our existence on this planet will come to a catastrophic end soon. It is of

pivotal momentousness to unveil perfidious attempts which try to exploit the present

potential for positive change for the justification of the implementation of the

neoliberal agenda which thrives for further global centralization and hence

concentration of power (Coleman, 2005; Mausfeld, 2017; Smith & Chomsky, 1987).

That is, real (or strategically self-created) problems are used to legitimate measures

(under a false pretence) which would otherwise not be admissable (cf. the politician's

syllogism).

121

History has taught humanity that prima facie seemingly well-intended

motives have often been abused for the consolidation of power, e.g., the “war on terror”

(Melley, 2017). The egocentric, competitive, and intrinsically antidemocratic

principles of neoliberal capitalism have invaded all domains of life (Mausfeld, 2019).

Domains in which they are utterly inappropriate and obviously destructive, such as

120

Expressis verbis from the official statement of the BULLETIN OF ATOMIC SCIENTISTS.

URL: https://thebulletin.org/2018-doomsday-clock-statement

121

The fallacy of the undistributed middle (non distributio medii): Major premise: To improve things,

things must change. Minor premise: We are changing things. Conclusion: Therefore, we are

improving things. N.B. Often the proposed solution is depicted as “the only alternative”.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

the educational system,

122

the health care system, geriatric care, the family systems,

and even the scientific endeavour itself

123

(cf. military Keynesianism within the

military-academic complex

124

). The egocentric neoliberal doctrine has thus deeply

influenced all aspects of human cognition and behaviour. As an implicit ideology it

has been gradually assimilated and is therefore largely imperceptible (indoctrinated

ideologies govern behaviour primarily via unconscious processes). Ludwig

Wittgenstein termed this type of imperceptibility “aspect blindness”, e.g., a fish

cannot see water. Sheldon Wolin (*1922;†2015) proposed the term “inverted

totalitarianism” to describe a situation in which suppression and servitude are

inversely perceived as the highest form of freedom because the mind is no longer

capable to make any meaningful comparisons as it is no longer able to even imagine

any alternatives to the dominant status quo (imagination and creativity are cognate,

122

E.g.: Chomsky, N (2003). The functions of schools: Subtler and cruder methods of control. In D. A.

Saltman & D. Gabbard (Eds.), Education as enforcement: The militarization and corporatization of

schools. New York: NY: Routledge, pp.25-36.

123

The essential Humboldtian ideals of independent academic institutions (which safeguard

academic freedom) have been replaced by the military-industrial-academic complex and a profit-

oriented business model (Chomsky, 2015); see also the effects of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation on

creativity (Prabhu, Sutton, & Sauser, 2008).

124

The triad has been addressed in the book entitled “University in Chains: Confronting the

Military-Industrial-Academic Complex” (Giroux, 2015).

Military Keynesianism refers to the stance that governments should increase military expenditures

to foster economic growth (see also Gilmore, 1999). This principle has been précised by Barney

Frank: “These arguments will come from the very people who denied that the economic recovery plan

created any jobs. We have a very odd economic philosophy in Washington: It’s called weaponized

Keynesianism. It is the view that the government does not create jobs when it funds the building of

bridges or important research or retrains workers, but when it builds airplanes that are never going to

be used in combat, that is of course economic salvation.”

Source URL: https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/weaponized-keynesianism/

Noam Chomsky wrote extensively on the ubiquitous “militarization problem”, for instance in 1993 in

an article in Z MAGAZINE (entitled: The Pentagon System): “Social spending may well arouse public

interest and participation, thus enhancing the threat of democracy; the public cares about hospitals,

roads, neighborhoods, and so on, but has no opinion about the choice of missiles and high-tech fighter

planes. The defects of social spending do not taint the military Keynesian alternative, which had the

added advantage that it was well-adapted to the needs of advanced industry: computers and

electronics generally, aviation, and a wide range of related technologies and enterprises.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

ergo, the systemic antagonism of these higher-order mental faculties consolidates the

status quo).

Aldous Huxley foresaw this development of psychologically manufactured

consensus in a lecture entitled “The Final Revolution”

125

delivered at the University

of Berkley in 1962:

In the present tense, Zeese & Flowers (2014) characterized the situation as follows:

125

The lecture was delivered on the 20

of March 1962 at the Berkeley Language Center. The

original recording of the lecture can be found in the UCLA Library Digital Collections as tape 157a

under the following URL:

http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz00253vz2&maxPageItems=999

“There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making

people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak,

producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that

people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy

it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or

brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. And this

seems to be the final revolution.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

These quotations indicate that the problems humanity is facing are not confined to

the physical sphere (i.e., militarisation and loss of biodiversity) but that the

obliteration and eradication is furthermore psychological. The neoliberal agenda has

devastating effects on human morals, values, and behaviours. It will take significant

longitudinal collective efforts to counteract its cumulative effects on the human

psyche, or else future generations will become incapacitated to even conceive

alternative ways of thinking because the status quo is the only Weltanschauung they

have ever known.

Behaviour is governed by thought and the basis of thought is consciousness. Ergo,

the deduced essential question is: How can human consciousness be transformed for

the better to change the trajectories of the Earth System and to enable a sustainable

and free future for mankind? Science (and, ipso facto, particularly psychology and

neuroscience) plays a central rôle in answering this question and a systematic

investigation of the neurochemical substratum of consciousness (i.e., the essence of

humanness) is consequently a decisive research agenda which should be prioritized.

“We are living in a time of Inverted Totalitarianism, in which the tools used to

maintain the status quo are much more subtle and technologically advanced.

These include propaganda and control of the major media outlets that hide the

real news about conditions at home and our activities around the world behind

distractions such as high-profile citizen trials and celebrity gossip. The major

electronic media, owned by six corporations nationwide, also routinely

misinforms the public about domestic and foreign policy. A recent example is the

“Fiscal Cliff.” Another tool is to create insecurity in the population so that people

are unwilling to speak out and take risks for fear of losing their jobs and being

unable to afford food, a home and health care. Changes in the work environment,

such as the attack on unions and the war on whistleblowers, have led to greater

job insecurity. Changes in college education also silence dissent, including the

trend toward adjunct rather than tenured professors. Adjunct professors, now

comprising 85 percent of faculty, are less willing to teach topics that are viewed

as controversial. This, combined with massive student debt, are tools to silence

the student population, once the center of transformative action.”

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Technological progress and economic growth clearly cannot solve the present

problems – they are a part of it (mechanistic/materialistic solutions cannot substitute

for the lack of love which lies at the very heart of the problem at hand). So far,

contemporary science has largely neglected the extraordinary experiences catalysed

by various naturally-occurring psychedelic materials, some of which have been used

as “neurocognitive tools” since time immemorial across numerous cultures for the

purpose of healing and divination, in order to create states of communion, empathy,

and transcendence, and to facilitate deep inter- and intrapersonal insights

126

(Jones,

2007; Tupper, 2002). Further, the potential of the extremely powerful endogenous

neurochemical 5-MeO-DMT has not yet been explored at all (it is wide-open

uncharted scientific territory). Specifically, research in the domain of creativity

appears to be vital for species survival because humanity needs to find alternative

ways of existence. If there is a chance that endogenous neurochemicals such as 5-

MeO-DMT can catalyse a radical novel (less egocentric and more loving) creative way

of thinking which fosters biophilia, egalitarian attitudes, solidarity, empathy,

altruism, emotional intelligence, and noetic epistemological insights into the

interconnectedness of nature, and indeed all of existence, then it is sciences moral

obligation to take this potential very seriously as creative change is de facto an

evolutionary matter of paramountcy. The transformational ego-dissolving experience

of nonduality might prove to be the quintessential antidote to the rigid, habitual,

materialistic, dualistic, and egoic mindset which lies at the very core of the existential

126

The Ancient Greek aphorism "know thyself” (one of the 147 Delphic maxims) is pertinent and

some theorist hold that psychedelics were a quintessential spiritual catalyst in the “Eleusinian

mysteries” (Bizzotto, 2018; Wasson, Hofmann, & Ruck, 1979), a secret rite of passage which

constituted a pivotal event in the lives of numerous Greek thinkers who deeply influenced the very

basis of Western thought (amongst the initiates were with all likelihood eminent “lovers of wisdom”

such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Cicero, i.a.). According to Plato, the ultimate purpose

of the initiation was the “assimilation of divinity” and ”to lead us back to the principles from which

we descended” (Taylor, Raine, & Harper, 1969, p. 368) or what Plotinus described as the “the flight of

the alone to the alone”, an expression which echoes the Kaivalya Upanishad (kaivalya means

liberation (but see Deussen, 1906)). It is interesting to consider Plato’s allegory of the cave this

relation, e.g., the therein described immense difficulty to face the sun after lifelong imprisonment in

a confined cell of false perception.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

crisis.

127

That is, an egoic and competitive mindset is incompatible with the

imperative need for collective action and the interpersonal effects of transpersonal

experiences might provide significant impetus to realize this communal goal. The

transformation of deep-seated plutonic self-identity schemata (i.e., how human

creatures conceive of themselves) is perhaps the most pivotal aspect. The culturally

conditioned dualistic psychological schism which separates man from nature (Fromm,

1962) stands in sharp contrast with an integral, interconnected, unitive, and holistic

worldview.

Recently a bipartite model of 5-HT signalling has been proposed which is pertinent

in this regard (Carhart-Harris & Nutt, 2017). It has been suggested that passive

coping

128

(stress moderation via passive toleration of the stressor) is the brains

default modus (status quo) which is mediated via 5-HT

receptor signalling. Active

coping (engaging and changing the cause of stress), on the other hand, is conjectured

to be mediated via 5-HT

signalling. Specifically, the authors proposed that 5-HT

mediated plasticity may be crucial “as the level of adversity reaches a critical point”.

The concept “plasticity” was generically defined as the “capacity for change” (but see

Carhart-Harris & Nutt, 2017).

With respect to paradigm-change (i.e., a shift from a dualistic egocentric tier to an

interconnected unitive tier) it is important to note that in the past “revolutions of

thought” have been systematically subverted by the neoliberal “financial power élite”

(Harvey, 2007; Hill & Kumar, 2009; Mausfeld, 2019) which invests heavily into

studies of social psychology, group dynamics, and analyses of social movements

(Mausfeld, 2017; Sugarman, 2015). Paradigm-shifting social energy is intentionally

diffused and systematically redirected towards substitutional “strawman objectives”.

Movements are infiltrated, “Red Herring strategies” are employed, and effective

activists are coopted or otherwise socially discredited via various ad hominem

arguments as a persona non grata. By this psychological stratagem real change,

127

The Chinese logogram for the term “crisis” 危機 (pinyin: wēijī) is composed of “danger” 危 and

“opportunity” 機 (also “danger at a point of juncture” but the exact meaning is polysemous and a

matter of debate amongst sinologists).

128

The concept of learned helplessness appears to be of relevance with respect to passivity and 5-

agonism/antagonism (cf. Wu, 1999).

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

which targets the roots of the problem, is prevented. In brevi, change is intentionally

inhibited by those who benefit from the corrupt status quo and powerful slogans such

as “save the planet” and “change for a better future” are taken advantage of to

expedite the ongoing process of centralisation of power. Tactics to stymie effective

change include cognitive infiltration (Sunstein & Vermeule, 2008, 2009),

internal/external coöptation, exploitation of the principles of group-dynamics such as

group-pressure and conformity, cybernetic methods such as algorithmic censorship of

digital information, various forms of psychological manipulation such as induction of

fear and distrust, etc. pp. (but see Chomsky, 2016). The antagonism between

creativity and control is a long-standing issue which was central in the historical

context of the 18

century enlightenment revolution which shares many

characteristics with the current situation (Fromm, 1962). Humanistic motives and

neoliberal capitalism are incompatible. The former seeks freedom and equality while

the latter is based on control and exploitation.

129

Creativity is fundamentally based

on freedom and liberty. Per contrast, neoliberal control is based on power and

suppression. Both are diametrically opposed cannot coexist in harmony (Gormley,

2018; Harvey, 2007).

Besides challenging the destructive egocentric status quo, epistemological insights

into the nondual ontology of existence (e.g., dual-aspect monism/neutral monism)

130

challenge some of the most central assumptions of contemporary mainstream science,

e.g., the notion of detached scientific objectivity which is a cognitive/epistemic illusion

(Hoffman, 2016; cf. Wiseman, 2015). A nondual conceptualization of reality might

force us to rethink our axiomatic (non-evidence based and naïve) doxa (Bourdieu,

1977) about the way we conceive reality and practice science, e.g., the stipulated

129

For example, Immanuel Kant’s leitmotif Sapere aude (dare to think for yourself) which he used in

his essay “Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?” (Answering the Question: What Is

Enlightenment?) from 1784.

130

As Bertrand Russel put it: “The whole duality of mind and matter [...] is a mistake; there is only

one kind of stuff out of which the world is made, and this stuff is called mental in one arrangement,

physical in the other.” (Russell, 1913, p.15). Russel’s monism stands in sharp contrast with the

(mainly unquestioned) “reductive materialism” working-hypothesis which forms the predominant

basis of contemporary science.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

dichotomy between observer and observed

131

and the widespread belief that the brain

produces consciousness.

132

A nondual reconceptualization is therefore implicitly

perceived as a threat to the widely adopted “quasi-Newtonian” status quo

which has

in reality already been fundamentally revised by modern quantum physics, viz., the

widely held and mainly unquestioned metaphysical assumption of local realism is no

longer empirically tenable (Handsteiner et al., 2017; Schlosshauer, Kofler, &

Zeilinger, 2013). A large proportion of mainstream science still operates under an

outdated deterministic Newtonian paradigm (from a Bayesian epistemology

perspective an update of priors in the light of new empirical evidence is required).

“Belief bias” plays a central part in this irrational situation (Evans et al., 1993). In

his seminal book “The structure of scientific revolutions” Thomas Kuhn pointed out

that it is a general phenomenon that paradigm challenging anomalies “that subvert

the existing tradition of scientific practice” (T. Kuhn, 1970, p. 6) are neglected as long

as possible. Along the same line Abraham Maslow discussed the “Psychology of

Science” in great detail in his eponymous book (Maslow, 1962). Maslow formulated a

quasi-Gödelian critique of orthodox science and its “unproved articles of faith, and

taken-for-granted definitions, axioms, and concepts”. Fundamental research on

extremely powerful consciousness-expanding substances like 5-MeO-DMT might

thus force us the rethink largely unquestioned axiomatic epistemological and

ontological assumptions. Prima vista, this critical line of thought might sound far-

fetched and even absurd

133

but such an argumentum ad lapidem constitutes no valid

reason for the prima facie rejection of the idea.

From an anthropological perspective, it might be helpful to look at the way

indigenous cultures utilised 5-MeO-DMT traditionally and how they related to the

Earth System, to each other, and to the Self (i.e., psyche and physis). From an

evolutionary vantage point it might be argued that ego-dissolving psychoactive plants

131

Cf. Cartesian dualism and the Heisenberg cut (Atmanspacher, 1997).

132

This view is gradually changing, for instance, Christof Koch stated in a 2014 SCIENTIFIC

AMERICA article that “the mental is too radically different for it to arise gradually from the

physical” (p. 2), thereby highlighting the explanatory gap in contemporary neuroscientific theorizing.

133

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” ~ Albert Einstein (as cited in

Hermanns & Einstein, 1983)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

and fungi played an important rôle in the comparably harmonious (symbiotic)

relationship which governed man and nature before the industrial revolution

(McKenna, 1992). Again, such a proposal predictably appears absurd to the modern

(hyper-technological) mind. However, the present situation is more than merely

absurd — it is clearly pathological (e.g., nuclear weapons positioned all over the globe

– ready to launch at any time). Any real solution to the “anthropogenic global crisis”

will be at odds with the predominant status quo and will thus cause intensely virulent

cognitive dissonance in the minds of most passively-obedient dogmatic status quo

followers (cf. Sir Francis Bacon’s analogy on “ants, spiders, and bees” expounded in

his Novum Organum, 1620).

From a general philosophy of science and set-theoretical perspective it can be

cogently argued that if science wants to live up to its ideal to capture reality in its

entirety, without leaving any residue, it needs to integrate neurochemicals like 5-

MeO-DMT into its modelling efforts – especially given the fact that this alkaloid is

an endogenous components of the human brain and, ergo, in all likelihood of

evolutionary relevance (the rôle of 5-MeO-DMT in neurobiology is currently utterly

elusive and we argue that neurochemical vestigiality is an unlikely explanation). In

conclusio, any model which incorporates only a specific (a priori selected) subset of

the available quantitative and qualitative data is ipso facto at best incomplete (and

in the worst-case scenario prejudiced, dogmatic, and systematically biased). We are

confident that a mature science will sooner or later investigate 5-MeO-DMT in the

context of human psychology and neurobiology. It is just a matter of time — and of

neuropolitics (cf. Rose & Abi-Rached, 2014). Nil desperandum. Tempora mutantur,

nos et mutamur in illis

134

– or to use the better-known Greek semantic equivalent:

Panta rhei. The fact that we are living in a world which can change let Leibniz to the

conclusion that we are living in le meilleur des mondes possible.

135

134

Transl.: “Times are changed; we, too, are changed within them.” In the context at hand this

implies that no ideology ever survived the test of time. Change is the only historical constant (a

tautological statement evocative of the self-referential “Liar paradoxon” and Gödel’s incompleteness

theorem).

135

Transl.: “The best of all possible worlds” in Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de

l'homme et l'origine du mal (Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the

Origin of Evil) published in 1710.

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

We will end with three thematically interrelated quotations from the distinguished

polymath William James who was intrinsically interested in mystical and

transcendental experiences (as evidenced, inter alia, by his excellent book “The

varieties of religious experience”). In the introduction of his essay “The hidden Self”

James articulated the following (a quotation which might surprise those who

stereotype James as a prototypical exemplar of American pragmatism, while, in

actuality, his versatility and open-mindedness defies social categorization):

James conducted self-experiments with the gaseous chemical compound nitrous oxide

and the mescaline

136

containing psychedelic cactus “peyote” (Lophophora williamsii).

He was enthusiastic about the effects of nitrous oxide (which is not a genuine

psychedelic) and it has been argued that his first-hand experiences with this

dissociative anaesthetic played a central rôle for the development of some of his most

136

Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally-occurring psychedelic alkaloid in the

phenethylamine class which was first isolated by the German pharmacologist and chemist in Arthur

Heffter in 1897 who conducted self-experiments to compare mescaline with peyote (cf. Kauder, 1899;

Lewin, 1894).

“The scientific-academic mind and the feminine-mystical mind shy from each

other’s facts, just as they shy from each other’s temper and spirit. Facts are there

only for those who have a mental affinity with them. When once they are

indisputably ascertained and admitted, the academic and critical minds are by

far the best fitted ones to interpret and discuss them - for surely to pass from

mystical to scientific speculations is like passing from lunacy to sanity; but on

the other hand if there is anything which human history demonstrates, it is the

extreme slowness with which the ordinary academic and critical mind

acknowledges facts to exist which present themselves as wild facts with no stall

or pigeon-hole, or as facts which threaten to break up the accepted system. In

psychology, physiology, and medicine, wherever a debate between the Mystics and

the Scientifics has been once for all decided, it is the Mystics who have usually

proved to be right about the facts, while the Scientifics had the better of it in

respect to the theories.” (James, 1890, pp. 361–362)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

central ideas on mysticism and revelation (Moon, Kuza, & Desai, 2018). However, his

experimentation with the truly visionary peyote

137

was unfortunately unsuccessful.

One can only speculate: Which turn would Western psychology have taken if James’

mind would have entered the psychedelic realm? James concluded his paper on

nitrous oxide inhalation as follows:

Years later, James eloquently articulated the importance of unbiased and eclectic

inquiry in light of his “radical empiricism” stance. The entire disquisition is presented

in his essay “A World of Pure Experience”:

137

Radiocarbon dating of archaeological specimens of peyote indicate that it has in all likelihood been

used since prehistoric times as long as ≈5700 years ago (El-Seedi, De Smet, Beck, Possnert, &

Bruhn, 2005).

“It seems, indeed, a causa sui, or ‘spirit become its own object’. My conclusion is

that the togetherness of things in a common world, the law of sharing, of which

I have said so much, may, when perceived, engender a very powerful emotion;

that Hegel was so unusually succeptible [sic] to this emotion; throughout his life

that its gratification became his supreme end, and made him tolerably

unscrupulous as to the means he employed; that indifferentism is the true

outcome of every view of the world which makes infinity and continuity to be its

essence, and that pessimistic or optimistic attitudes pertain to the more

accidental subjectivity of the moment; finally, that the identification of

contradictories, so far from being the self-developing process which Hegel

supposes, is really a self-consuming process, passed from the less to the more

abstract, and terminating either in a laugh at the ultimate nothingness, or in a

mood of vertiginous amazement at a meaningless infinity.” (James, 1882)

5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine:

An ego-dissolving neurochemical catalyst of creativity

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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